Have questions about publishing, growing, or going paid on Substack?
The Substack team, and your fellow writers, are here to help!
We’re gathering the writer community and members of the Substack team together in this discussion thread to answer writer questions for an hour. Drop your questions in the thread by leaving a comment, and we’ll do our best to share knowledge and tips.
Our team will be answering questions and sharing insights with you in the thread today from 10 a.m. - 11 a.m. PDT / 1 p.m. - 2 p.m. EDT. We encourage writers to stick around after the hour and continue the conversation together.
Some updates and reminders from the Substack team:
More ways to customize your publication homepage. Instead of having your publication name displayed in one of the default Substack fonts, you can now upload a file of your publication title in your own style. The image file should be should be at least 1024×256 pixels, with a maximum aspect ratio of 21:4. Visit “Set up the basics” in your settings page to upload a custom wordmark and see it in action on The Hyphen by Emma Gannon’s homepage:
Serialization tools. This new tool allows readers to tap forward and back between your posts. In your settings, you can now “Enable previous & next post links.” When a reader finishes a post they will be prompted, like a book, to choose to move forward or back.
We often use Office Hours as an opportunity to tell you about new features and updates that are made on Substack, in real time. We’ve got a lot cooking and want to be sure we most effectively communicate what’s new with you. Tell us: how would you like us to share new features and updates with you going forward?
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Got questions about Substack or feedback about what’s new? You’re in the right place! Leave a comment in this thread.
Next Thursday, we’ll take a break from Office Hours to hold our monthly Shoutout Thread. Come ready to share what you’ve been reading and inspired by recently on Substack. Save it to your calendar so you don’t miss it.
Sadly my current work schedule keeps me from joining in during Office Hours. But even though I'm late, I just have to say THANK YOU for the previous & next post links feature!!!! I think it will be great for any publication, but it's especially handy for those of us with serial projects. :)
I answered product news in the polls, but the real answer is all of the above. Honestly, I like that approach. I don't feel overwhelmed by Substack product news. But what's great about hearing the news in different channels is that I don't always have the bandwidth to read about the announcement the first time I see it. All of the above means I eventually find out what I need to know.
From the product update e-mails. My schedule changed recently and I haven't been able to make Office Hours for a while now. For that reason I've appreciated being able to get those updates via e-mail. That being said, I'm here today. So, spill all the tea, Katie! Tell us everything Substack is developing. We'll keep it a secret. I promise.
Question about media assets: Since many social media platforms don’t favor initial posts with outside links and so some of us put the link in the second comment or create a thread with it at the end, is there an easy way to do that using the media assets? Also, same question about the “Share on Twitter” and “Share on FB” options when we publish new posts.
I’m confused whether this space is for Substack to promote their new products or actually help us use the already existing products by answering our questions?? I have so pretty basic things I’m trying to understand and haven’t been able to get any questions answered (also tried last week!).
Thanks John! that's sweet. Here are some of the questions I've been posing to the Substack team (I haven't found any answers in their FAQ):
For the Post Cover:
Can you have a Video (instead of a photo)? If so, how will it show on peoples Feed (first shot from the video or do you get to choose cover image for video?)
Paid Subscribers:
Is there a certain number of subscribers your recommend having before adding a paid subscription option?
Podcast:
I see people can offer their podcast to paid subscribers AND also have it on Apple Podcasts (and other platforms) but in a private way? How is this done?
Keep in mind, I'm just an end user. So, none of this is official.
1. As far as I know you can not use video for your post cover. I've never seen anyone do that which makes me think it's not currently possible.
2. I don't think they have stated hard numbers for how many free subscribers you should have before offering a paid option. Rather, they tell you that their data suggests that normally between 5-10% of your free subscribers end up converting to paid. With that in mind, it's just a matter of you doing the math to figure out how much money you want to make from your newsletter based off of that conversion rate.
3. Again, this is just a guess. I believe it's done by creating a private RSS feed that has a unique address for each subscriber.
I will say post updates & office hours in that order. I would love for you guys to make the messages section more usable. Will drive more substack users to their accounts & discover stuff i.e us newbie substack authors :)
The “awesome” new features do indeed spark “joy” in me, but at this stage of my Substack adventure, I also have to agree with Liam. “I don't really care about new features. As long as it does the basics.” A couple of months ago, I decided to go full boom into learning all the neat ways that Substack could help me reach more people with my insights from 25-years of addiction (anyone can have an off quarter-century!) and the following 25 as an Addiction Counselor. My relocation to a small city in the middle of the state, surrounded by Reservations and ranches, has allowed me to work with various cultures and with generations of the same family and view the same problems through the eyes of different cultures.
Another part of my plan was to connect with some of the supportive “influencers” that I met on these pages, learn from them and offer support to them. That has gone well and even led to some referrals from them, but…
My initial enthusiasm for becoming some kind of a Substack multi-media wizard has faded as I realized that “Merlin’s Newsletter” has suffered from my forays into this or that new feature and not into populating it with those insights.
I could write about many subjects. I agree with Mike Sowden that *Everything is Amazing*, but my primary focus is supposed to be on encouraging folks in early recovery with the Information and Inspiration to hang in there through the tough times that follow, once we have decided to throw away the false crutches that only lead us downhill and learn how to walk on our own legs. The legs that can power us “uphill,” if we make the effort and take advantage of the available support groups.
*Early Recovery is Bick* but maintaining it once we have settled on a useful program and stick to it, will cease to be a struggle and the benefits in all areas of our lives will make it obvious why we embarked on this new adventure.
Maybe this already exists, but if not a Substack page with nothing but articles about features and updates and detailed instructions on how to use them.
Appreciate knowing I can always hear the latest news and updates in Office Hours, then go directly to the comment section to share my excitement or ask clarifying questions. Feels like we're all in this together.
I don’t usually come to office hours unless I have questions, so I didn’t realize product updates happen in here! I love the dedicated product update posts personally!
I'd say mostly through the Substack email, dashboard updates and Office Hours. The more I think about it you should continue following the Tesla model that keeps sending software updates to car owners - in our case the Substack writers ;)
Hi. Don’t want to rain on the parade, but my stats have another source bringing me 2:1 new subscriptions. Meaning for every 1 I get from you guys, the other source brings 2. I’m not a huge entity here, and I haven’t been here long, but I thought I’d toss this into the mix.
After you login you’ll be on your dashboard where you can see your publication. Click the edit button on the picture of your submission. You’ll see the form you filled out when you originally submitted your publication. The “topics” field in the form is where you play around with categories/topics. Remember to hit submit at the very bottom of the form.
I started December last year. Only started getting Substack last two months. Commenting on other Substack helps. Just had 30 from LinkedIn so far in the last 3 days. Have had to message 1300 contacts. Still have 1200 to go! Email me for what to say
Ally, do you mind sharing what you're doing for social media? I made a concerted effort on Instagram this summer (grew my audience from 200-1,000) and it doesn't seem to be generating much action for me.
I share on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram as stories, I posted 1 reef and I share every post I make on substack. For Instagram I post carousels offering a sneak peak of the post and encourage people to check it out using the link in my bio. You can check out my Instagram to see how I post https://www.instagram.com/allyfortis/
I’ve been on the sample as well. Ditto what you said, InboxReads has been more successful for me though. One thing I did notice with the sample was when your newsletter is shared you pick up subscribers. It’s happened twice for me. You can pay to have it shared more often, I haven’t crossed that bridge yet!
I’m not sure I understand how Boost works. Does Substack give us advice on what to do or does Substack do it automatically? That is, does Substack using this new feature automatically email our subscribers without us knowing?
Yes. Once you turn on boost, substack will create some target email campaigns to send to your existing subs base to drive more paid subs or lower cancel rates. I guess they will use analytics to find cohorts of users (most engaged, repeat readers, etc.) & target them with discounts, free trials, etc.
Will boost automatically send various e mails about us to various parties
OR
Will boost first apprise us of what e mail it proposes to send out to various parties, giving us the option of vetoing the transmission of the e mails.
Email re-engagement strategies should be approached with caution. An automated "Hey, you ain't reading." or "Hey, you seem to like this. Care to pay for it?" could lead to unsubscribes. I'm keeping this option turned off because it's too early days. Remember, growth is only a fraction of the equation. But great questions you asked, David.
From what I read & understand, users always have an option to turn off automated emails that substack will send on your behalf. Turning off emails will be as good as turning off boost ?
I am still not sure if Boost will "create" some target email campaigns to RECOMMEND to us to send or it does it on its own––without us approving it or operating it ourselves.
I am not sure if I like the idea of an algorithm sending out emails from my account. In fact, I am sure I do not.
Thanks! That's very kind of you. I'm allegedly a graphic designer too, but for some reason I still had trouble with it, haha. In the end, I might just go back to the old font... :-)
Right now Boost is only for paid newsletters, as it focuses on free -> paid conversion. That said, we definitely have some stuff we're working on for growing your free list too, it's just not under the Boost umbrella.
Excited to see what you have in the pipeline for free lists. Not all of us are at the stage where we’re thinking about paid subscriptions yet… I’m always interested in new tools to help get there.
Ben, can we see what's sent in our names and approve? I just had a look at the boilerplate letter for referrals (which I am certain wasn;t there when the program started) and wasn't thrilled: Not my style at all
My understanding of the Substack playbook for going paid was to first build a following of free subscribers. I have 800, which doesn't seem like enough to launch paid content yet. But the new Boost tool is useless to me if I don't have paid subscribers. Am I stagnating my growth by waiting longer to turn on paid subscriptions?
I went paid from the start. I have a very small following (I’ve only been up and running for about a month), but I felt that as a reader I’d rather know from the start what to expect vs loving to read something only to have it blocked by a paywall somewhere in the future when they decided to go paid. My vote is go ahead and turn it on.
You can turn on paid at any time. I am puny and have it on. While you have to feel out your audience (people aren’t always paying for exclusive content), a lot will just pay to support the work you do. Try it.
I kind of ignored the conventional wisdom and used a podcast model to going paid with my Battlegrounds+ newsletter.
Basically, I put out a series of related posts, and mix in some standalones. Those standalones are in-depth and meaty. I make those for paid subs only. The regular series are free.
But then I’ll lock the older series behind the paywall. So all subs get the current series free, but to see the archives are the standalone posts, they need to upgrade.
I feel the same as you Joshua on the going paid front. When I started a year ago, my initial target before even thinking of going paid was at least 1000 free subscribers (and it's still the milestone I need to reach). For the time being, I feel confortable with my approach as I only have time to publish monthly anyway. Before putting some material behind a paywall, I will have to increase my frequency. Good luck !
Thanks for this update, Katie. I turned on paid subscriptions when I started and a year later, I am still keeping everything free. I do have some paid subscriptions, though, including from folks I don't know, which helps me keep going! I am still struggling about how and when to paywall some content.
Thanks so much for sharing this, Joan, I am only now realizing this option of free and paid getting the same content, assumed 'paid' implied getting different content. Just started last week, so I have lots to learn! I can imagine it'll be hard to decide exactly when right time to establish a paywall, and what kind of content to hold for paid subs.
Great! Very excited to try this out. BTW, I have some questions about new features: I clicked the button for Referrals, but I have no idea what happens from there. Do we get to see the message sent to readers?
Also, I just okayed :Enable previous & next post links:, and I see the top right button on the post I'm writing now says "Continue" instead of "publish" What happens when I click it, she says nervously?
Hi Annette! This was a small tweak we made to the copy on that button and is unrelated to the serialization features. We're hoping that it makes it a little clearer that there are a few more settings to review before the post goes fully live.
Oh, good idea! Yes, I'm sure it makes new folks anxious to hit "Publish" (it did me!) Thanks, Annie and team. Oh, and throwing caution to the wind, I just okayed Boost. :)
Initially my publication was this way too. I actually think the benefits of substack are more long-term. For example, having recommendations on, counts as new growth from the substack network. Newer publications need time to build up a healthy recommendation network. It took me months to network with other writers. Now, our mutual recommendations bring us hundreds of new subs.
That's how it was for me initially. But now I'm getting a lot of new subs through the network. The more you publish and other writers and commenters read your work, it starts to snowball.
I’m not sure I understand how Boost works. Does Substack give us advice on what to do or does Substack do it automatically? That is, does Substack using this new feature automatically email our subscribers without us knowing?
Boost is automatic! Once you opt in we take care of all the heavy lifting when it comes to marketing. That said, boost is primarily not about emailing subscribers (or anybody) - most of what we're targeting initially involves readers interacting with the platform on the web.
Thanks, Ben. You said "primarily." Can I be sure if I enable boost that not a single email will be sent out of my account to my subscribers without my knowing about it.
Thanks, Ben. One more vital question. I have told almost all my subscribers that their email addresses will NOT be used by Substack but only by me. Are you now saying that in fact by turning on Boost that I will be violating this promise to my readers? I told them that signing was private, and their privacy would be maintained.
Well, that is the point, I think...whether emails will be sent automatically from Substack directly to our specific email list. So you are saying the answer is "Yes" : Once we enable Boost, Substack will send automatic emails to our subscribers in a targeted fashion. The emails will, of course, not come from the authors of the newsletter, but from Substack. Is this correct, Ben? Thanks!
Hi there. I'm new to Substack, only started about a month ago so am learning. I opted into Boost today, but honestly, I'd like to wait a while to understand it better - I read some of the discussion here and I don't feel comfortable with my subscribers being contacted not by me, if that makes sense! I read that you can opt out of Boost any time, but I can't see it in my Settings. How can I do this? Many thanks!
Are you saying there is a Substack Network that drives subscriptions? Well it isn't working for me. I've got 18 subscribers and it never increases. Granted I haven't posted for a few weeks but even when I was posting regularly the only people joining were real life friends. I don't get it???
It doesn't happen automatically. It depends on connecting with other writers, generally those who are writing on similar topics. For example, it works with things like writers recommending each other.
As with making anything on the internet, it takes a lot of online engagement to be seen by anyone at all. I do this and only have 40 subs. The hope is that those lead to more with the recommendation feature but it’s a lot of work upfront. At least Substack has a vast community to discover and engage with. It’s hard to find the right community but with enough time and effort, subs will eventually happen.
Yes, great questions below. Are they answered anywhere? I also would have. problem not approving content that went out to my subscribers ahead of time via Boost...
Hello all, and happy Office Hours! Here's a little bit of encouragement from one small newsletter to all of you: as difficult as it is to deal with "crickets" when you post, no/low engagement doesn't mean that what you're doing isn't working, as long as it's working for YOU. These things take time! If you write what YOU truly want to write, the audience will show up. Build community, not numbers! Understand that some of your most avid readers may never comment, share, or hit the like button! But they'll show up, every time. Write for the silent few. Write for the faithful ones. Write for YOU! And never, ever give up! 🌿
I get anxiety now whenever I post since having my first paid subscribers and am trying to not put pressure on myself or make it more difficult than it needs to be. This is good advice and a good reminder. Not every post can be amazing, but I will try to do my job nonetheless.
Yesss! It can be jarring when we're so used to social media platforms where engagement is a metric of success. I used to be so bothered by the fact that none of my readers really like or comment on my post, but it doesn't mean they're not reading! I've had some readers I know in real life mention my posts in conversation every now and then. I was glad to find that my content resonates with them. :")
Thank you! I sometimes get discouraged when I notice that someone who's responded to my posts with likes and comments before stops responding after a certain point. It can feel as if they no longer like your work. However, for all I know, it doesn’t mean much, since they could be busy and not have time to read my posts or they're still reading them but don't have much to say. By keeping in mind that I don't know what these subscribers might have going on, it feels easier to handle not hearing from them as often as before.
Hey, T.V.! I've been writing a blog since 2009 and my first unsubscribe was my brother. :) It still makes me laugh. In all fairness to him, I just signed him up without asking. Writing on any platform is humbling to our egos. Now, when I see an unsubscribe, I just say "adios." I think you answered your own question when you said they might be busy. YES! I detest email and am constantly having to unsubscribe from newsletters, even if I like them. So, just keep writing what you love and I promise you that the right people will respond at the right time. I came over to Substack from my website and from Mailchimp and gave my subscriber list the option to come with me or not. Probably not a very smart move but it felt right to me. The people who really want to read my newsletter will come. I've only been writing here since August and I LOVE it here!
As someone who started a music blog back in 2001 (HAH!), I wrote for NO ONE for a long time. It was three years before I made a dime, and another FOUR YEARS from then 'til I leveraged the site to get a web job at a music publication (added the site to my resume on Monster hahah).
So yes yes yes - you have to just keep writing for you, in your tone, in your style. It's not that people don't care about what you're writing about, it's that they have no idea (probably) that you're even writing it. It's a big world wide web out there!
This is really the heart of it. I get it that Substack are always promoting ways to get paid subs, it's a business. But at the heart of any good project is the work. Write it. Promote it - they will come. Do I think a pay-wall helps? No. Would it be nice to get paid? of course. But they are quite separate, and I'd concentrate on the former until you have at least 2000 subs. Then there's plenty of obvious strategies to convert some to paid, but you'll always only be converting a percentage of your existing subs to paid, so the question is - how much will that magical content behind the pay-wall upset your free subs? How much will it make new subs less likely to sign up? I'd also advise all new Substack people to look into the 1000 True Fans Rule.
"Write for you" -- definitely good advice. I've found that when I write about something with vigour (I cannot think of another way of describing it: 'passion' is not quite right), I get more engagement and more enjoyment.
Wise and encouraging words. Thanks, and I agree with everything you wrote and have found it to be true both with my newsletter here and the writing I do on Medium. My tagline in my bio is “I write to change lives, starting with my own,” and I benefit from writing and publishing my thoughts whether or not I have a huge following or make big bucks!
This is so true. I was reading about growing my subscriber base both paid and unpaid and came across an article that stated it took this particular author almost a year to go from 0 to 1000 subscribers and only two months to from from 1000-2000. Keep after it and you will grow. It just takes time. Thanks for the motivation!
Either option is fine. Early on, your goal is to grow free subscribers, regardless of whether you have a paid option. There's no harm in opening up the option for people to pay if they want to though
Recently, in a How to Grow piece the author indicated that a *very* small proportion of her subscribers were “paid,” but still had a sufficient income to satisfy her expectations. She said something to effect that “The Free subscribers are my “audience,” but the paid get to come backstage and see more about the process.” (Not even close to a quote). Also, that some “paid” are paying just to be supportive, because you are publishing something that needs to be said.
On another front, I have written comments that I would have liked to get myself and run into a paywall. I don’t get that at all. I often get as much out of comments on the news sites as from the original article, especially if it is an opinion piece.
And comments about the comments. That is what I consider “engagement” if the comments are about substance and not ad hominem attacks, e.g. Your mother wears combat boots” (Sorry. A put down from my elementary days in the 1950’s)
I like S. E. ‘s admonition to the effect of “Be gracious or you will have to leave.” BTW, I’m wondering why the sudden drop off of out-and-out trollage since Putin invaded Ukraine. Has he assigned them to other duties?
I opened up a paid option from the very beginning, but I make all my content available to everyone (for now). You can see the language I use in my About Page, but I basically say that paying is like saying, Hey I like you and I want to read more! haha
Totally! I have been writing enough to publish regularly since the BB (Before Blogs) era, but self-doubt, procrastination and a series of health issues in my late Seventies, have kept me from completing ideas and hitting that button. I just realized today that I leave more writing on “comments” than I publish on my own. And, lately, seismic events in my local family, have distracted me. Although, I still got into several active discussions, for instance with Moviewise, who invited me to share a Guest Post. An Invitation I intend to accept when I have cleared some of my current obligations. I am not a movie buff, but I suggested that perhaps something from my own interests could lead to a sub Substack post on his site called “Musicwise.” He thought that was a “great idea.” He even suggested that I follow up on that with “lessons” from a non-musical, musical from 1957, *The Girl Can’t Help It*
All I would have to do is read the Wiki article to refresh my memory, so I just might do that, but also, anyone who thinks that a sharing lessons learned from music in a “Musicwise” piece should consider sharing those thoughts with him and writing it. He also liked the “meta-lesson” I shared with him from my Addiction Counseling days, “When you lose, don’t lose the lesson.”
I see that following a brief illness, most of my commenting today is more like a comment to myself, calling for “accountability.” That includes you, S. E. as I have thoughts about your topics, but lacked the energy to expand on them. Or even read some of the Free subscriptions I signed up for in my initial enthusiasm to learn about “all things Substack.”
Sorry to hear of your family issues. I empathize as I have faced and am facing family health issues.
Funnily enough, I have been re-watching The Girl Can't Help It, on YouTube. I haven't read the Wikipedia article, but two lessons that stood out for me were the art of the bluff and not looking too keen. (The scene where Miller takes Jane Mansfield to various clubs to get people noticing her and talking about her.) Not sure how you can use that, but I think publishing even half-thought-out stuff or half-finished stuff has its value. And it would be good to have your thoughts in one or more places you own so that people can keep returning to them easily. Hope that is useful in some way.
It is useful. “Very.” I have trouble giving myself permission to send my "half-finished stuff” out the door, but then go haring after some other “bright idea from a dim bulb” and never send it anywhere, except to my array of hard drives. Hence, my nickname, “Incomplete Pete.”
Also, “good to have your thoughts in one or more places...” I was thinking about Guest Posting with Moviewise and other places then, after a couple of weeks, when his subscribers have had time to read them, reposting them on what is now known as Merlin’s Newsletter. That way, someone who wasn’t hip to Moviewise might check his site out as well.
I am big on Win-Win in human interactions. If you count benefits *not* received by the “Winner,” there is no Win-Lose, just Win-Win or Lose-Lose. Granted, the exchange might be lopsided, so that observers would see a clear winner, but who knows how many rippling benefits for *every one* were never sent towards humanity’s shore and given their own opportunity to spark creativity.
I just ran across *The Girl Can’t Help It* on Wikipedia, while trying confirm that it was in the Drive-In Theaters in 1957, during the summer I spent in Tucson and traveled Route 66 the first time. I have incomplete accounts of my second trip, in 1964 that have not met the criteria for publication by this Imperfectionist.
If I remembered to post it in the 9-22 Writers’ Hour, it should be there, along with his encouraging response, which then led more “ripples,” it is enough to make one seasick, just thinking about it.
Thank you for your encouragement! I've been telling myself this for years and refuse to play all the social media games so my corner of the internet has always been super small. I thought Substack would be a great place to start fresh. It's hard to keep showing up when you're still looking for your community. But, I will persist. I'm aiming to launch the first part of my art newsletter by the end of the week!
Just want to say that I've been in a writer's slump for about a month, but I think the wind in my sails are slowly coming back! Sitting in a cozy bakery in drizzly Portland with a coffee and pastry during Writer Office hours is my new thang.
Feel that slump at some point every day. It's natural. From my view, the key is not to believe it means anything other than a momentary blip. Coffee helps too. I miss the Seattle drizzle for creative output!
I've added office hours to my calendar because I love meeting new people in here. Also I'm from cozy and drizzly Seattle - I think we're built for coffee and online community in the PNW!
We all go through slumps. The important thing is to keep going and not give up. Perspective is important for me. I write for me and hope it helps others. This helps alleviate some of my anxiety around writing and helps get me out of my slumps too.
I haven't connected much with other Substack writers, but would like to! I'm also in the PNW, in Seattle right now but will be moving between here, Bellingham, and PDX again at some point for the next few months.
It's my happy space! I literally want to create an entire career just sitting in cafes around the world, drinking coffee, listening to funky lo-fi music and writing.
Dear lord I wasn’t aware of the new serialization tool until reading this. I’m publishing a serialized novel and have been going into each individual post and inserting a table of contents with updated links. I think I’ll keep doing this so that people can go to the very beginning from any post, or to the end if they need it, but I hope this saves me from having to update every single post just so that my readers can easily navigate to the next chapter. Thanks Substack!
Kerry, you raise a good point. I wonder if Substack couldn't also add a "Start at the beginning" button. The Previous and Next are great if you have been with the story from the beginning, but if you're coming into part 6 out of 10 it's not quite as helpful... unless you keep clicking Previous over and over.
Hey Chris, if you scroll down to my question about serialization tools you'll see that another engineer at Substack named Chris has replied to it. The profile picture makes it seem like it's a different Chris. Also, there is Chris Best. Do you guys have a whole Chris Collective going on over there? Has HR considered reviewing hiring practices to determine if there is an on-going discrimination problem against people not named Chris? Just asking because of my curiosity.
Simon, you have a nice implementation at the link you shared above. I really like how you begin with a summary of what has happened in previous chapters. That’s smart.
I modelled it loosely on episodic television: a recap, intro sequence, then into the main chunk of the episode. Only problem is that if I change the format now, I have over 50 posts to go through and tweak...
As soon as Chris mentioned the idea of creating a custom button, I had one of those “I should have thought of that” moments. It’s so obvious… and so powerful. I’d seen that option in the drop down for a while now, but never had actively thought about how it might be exploited.
Do you (or anyone else) have any insight on the upper character limit for what’s possible to be included on the button?
Yeah, this is hugely exciting news. The ability to have some sort of built-in drop-down menu, maybe near the top of a serialised page, would also be amazing, so that readers can easily hop around different chapters (like flicking through a book).
Simon ... agree! I'm in a support conversation about this since I've looked around and can't find the tool mentioned. If I get an interesting response, I'll share it.
Yeah, design-wise it's a bit more complicated to implement, but if they can figure it out (and I'm sure they can) it'll be the final piece of the puzzle for serial writers.
Kerry ... could you tell me what you mean by "serialization tool"? I'm very interested but can't seem to find anything like what you're talking about. Thanks for any help you can provide.
Also a question for any Substack people who may see this and know the answer. The Serialization tools can be set up on a per publication basis? Is that right? So, if I have My Main Publication and then My Serialized Fiction and My Angst Ridden Notes of Ennui, could I set them up on one of those My Serialized Fiction or is it universal?
Katie, you seem to know what Kerry means but I've been in a support conversation where this isn't ringing a bell. Several of us are interested in the possibility of a "new serialization tool."
I just launched my newsletter six weeks ago, but I wanted to express my gratitude to the Substack team and to this community. You've made every step of the process so straightforward. I love hearing about the new features and picking up various tips and tricks from the other writers in these threads. More than anything, I really appreciate the fact that this platform makes me feel like I'm in such good hands that all I have to do is concentrate on the writing. Thanks again, everyone.
I agree. I’ve published mine for about six months now, and as someone who is not a tech expert (to put it mildly) I appreciate how easy it was for me to figure out and use Substack to publish and send my newsletter. Also, these writer office hours are awesome! I learn new things, discover other writers in my niche (mental health) or others that interest me, and get encouragement and a sense of community.
Thanks so much, Sanjukt. I love the idea behind Voisegram! I'm going to pass it along to some other folks that I think might really be interested in it.
The serialization tool is really exciting! I know a lot of fiction writers who will be excited about that one. And if you are writing fiction, you should join the Fictionistas community on Substack.
I love "previous" and "next" post link buttons! I just implemented them, and my newsletter, "moviewise: Life Lessons From Movies" is NOT serialized, but it's nice to allow readers to easily go to another article! THANK YOU SUBSTACK 🤗🥳
Really happy with the Substack experience since I joined in late 2020; proud to see how far it's come and how much enthusiasm is still rolling forward to new and better features, while staying true to the spirit of Substack and not kowtowing to include features from other services which would dilute the brand. The recent inclusion of the Media Assets feature, for instance, is a great touch!
Well, this poll is a little slanted because you're asking people who are coming into office hours. I'd think that would weigh this in favor of that answer. If I can't make office hours, I don't want to miss an update, so I'd say to both dashboard and office hours.
Would it be possible to gain visibility to read through rates for individual posts? For example, something that tells us 23% of your audience stopped reading this post at this paragraph. If you can't get that granular, then tell us percentages for people who finished reading the entire post? Some type of data like that. I hope you folks will consider providing us some type of information like that.
I would be interested to see the data behind this idea, if it ever gets implemented. However, that might cause me to overthink: Why didn't my readers finish the post? (I'm an overthinker.)
Could this work for the podcasts and video formats we produce as well? Hmm...
I'll give you an exclusive sneak peek! Friday (tomorrow) at 1pm (CT), I'll be dropping a GROW BIGGER EARS, a Suburban Cowboy Edition...a handful of pop-leaning country songs this rocker has come to not only tolerate, but actually kinda dig! Check out some previous GBEs to get in the groove!🎼🎵🎸😎👍
Super excited about serialization, since I just started a new 28-Day challenge called The Writer's Notebook! (https://valorieclark.substack.com/s/writers-notebook ) It'll be great to make it easy for people to go between challenge days!
Have just hit the 6 month anniversary of my newsletter Eat This Drink That and am celebrating with a flash sale this weekend. Hoping it will bring in more subscribers - after a really encouraging surge of signups they’ve definitely slowed over the past couple of months but the feedback from those who have signed up has been great. Do spread the word among anyone you think might enjoy getting the sort of hot restaurant, recipe and wine tips you’d share with your friends!
Thanks, Katie. I'd thought of incorporating it into tomorrow's Friday 5 as I thought more people would open it that way but will think about it! Good idea!
Hi everyone, I hope you're all doing well. How About This (Canada) and The Metropolitan (UK) did an essay exchange this week where we wrote about the influences of each country on the youth of the other country. Great fun, I think you'll enjoy them:
I like the serialization tool! Note that you can use it even if you are not running a serial of any kind.
If you have a lot of posts on a similar theme, you can set them up so that people can with one click go from one to the next.
I saw this for the first time, I think, on Mr Money Mustache's website, where he had a link called "start here" for new readers. They could then binge-read in some sort of order. I then set up mini-tutorials on my website, like this one - http://www.yudkin.com/ordinary.htm.
Now my mind is churning about how I can implement this idea on my Substack, Introvert Upthink (https://www.introvertupthink.com). The idea is, you create a reader path instead of coaxing them to click around randomly.
Thanks for that, Marcia! I was wondering what the upside (if any) for those of use who don't write chaptered stories! I especially love your last sentence---something to work on over the weekend!
I seem to be missing out on the whole growth through Substack thing. I'm getting a few new readers but not many. Is this something that mostly benefits big newsletters? Or do I need to be more actively involved with recommendations? Also a question about the app, is an android version coming any time or it will be iphone only?
My newsletter is small and I used to think growth through Substack was only for bigger and/or paid newsletters, but then I got actively involved with recommendations and I've seen quite an uptick. All I needed to do was write a few thoughtful blurbs for the publications I genuinely recommend -- wish I'd done it sooner!
I think it helps to be actively involved. I think most of those that recommend me are those where I've had some interaction with the other writers, through Office Hours, through the Discord Group for substack writers, or shoutouts for their newsletter in my posts etc.
I'm not either - I think it might be because I'm more focused on getting people outside substack because I'm using my newsletter as a way to promote my book. And when I've reached out to do recommendation swaps, almost everyone doesn't get back. I'm not trying to take it personally....(haha...)
Agree with Melanie. Many of my new subscribers have discovered me during these writer office hours, and I’ve subscribed to other newsletters based on what the writers share here. I have also recommended many newsletters, and written blurbs about why I recommend them, but very few of those writers have recommended mine in return. I wouldn’t want them to feel obligated to just because I recommended theirs, though. I only want recommendations from people who actually read and appreciate what I write!
Me too! How deep are the discounts? How often do they get sent out? Will we know? I'd hate to offer something like a holiday discount a day after an automated one has gone out.
I'd love to see more details about how it works, what kind of emails it sends, and what tests are being done to ensure it doesn't annoy subscribers and turn them away.
A lot of our early Boost features are inspired by Yem's work. An example of this would be emailing your most active free readers and offering them a small discount to encourage them to go paid.
With any Boost feature, and really anything we launch, we test it pretty thoroughly to make sure that it's a net positive. This involves many things, including looking at long-term behavior of people who interact with these surfaces to make sure it's not causing them to stop reading, unsubscribe, or anything else that would indicate that they're unhappy.
I get my news about substack from writer office hours. The other thing I like about this session is that I find new writers. For whatever reason the “discover” click never produces writers I enjoy reading, but coming here today I found some pretty interesting (to me) subscribes! Thanks for being here!
Hooray for serialization navigation! I am so excited! I just wonder - will these work if your novel is contained within a section and you publish posts outside of that section, or will it look for the next/previous post in the entire Substack?
On Ko-fi, they offer a QR code that connects to your account. I just keep that window open, and copy'n'paste it onto the bottom of each of my articles. I hope I understood your dilemma, and my answer helps!
Really excited about the serialization aspect! I’m a Substack newbie but have been writing for years. Decided to bring my efforts here and am so delighted by how motivated I am to produce content on a consistent basis. The one thing I’ve never been able to grasp is capturing an audience. As someone who is rather shy about putting my work out there, I am wondering how other writers managed to overcome that (as I’m sure I’m not the only one)
Interacting with other writers here is an excellent start, people here are generally kind and supportive, you can probably get a few kind souls to read your writing and provide feedback.
Interacting with other writers is the best help there is :) Thanks, Mark! Will definitely put my focus on building my community here so that we may all help one another. Great stuff
Hey Karlie, welcome! It's great to have you. We have some posts that have been useful on growing (here's one https://on.substack.com/p/growing-advice-mason-currey). And as Mark noted, hanging out in the office hours is nice as well :)
I'll be curious to discover, Andrew! Just 12 hours before this Office Thread, and the "Boost" e-mail hit, I put over a dozen of my archived articles under lock'n'key! I just finished 13 months on 'Stack without really spending much time or effort hustling for subs. I guess it shows, 'cause my number of paid subbies is a literal handful (pause for laughter from the asssembled), but, I've been loathe to have my virtual, if not literal, hand out.
Meanwhile, 'Stackers who have 2 whole months under their belts, I've noticed, and do little more than send out a discussion question or a song to listen to are pulling in hundreds of subs with dozens paid (my total # of subs, 98% free, is 155)! So, assuming I'm doing it right (putting some articles behind a paywall), and my writing approaches anything close to in-depth and/or interesting, I'm hoping I can see a boost from Boost. We'll see....I guess.
As for your question, you might consider doing something similar to what I've done....just a thought. Good luck!
I'm still a very small newsletter. However, I enabled the payment option at the recommendation of a friend of mine. I currently offer all of the same content for free and you only pay if you want to support me. I already have a few paid subscribers in the first couple of weeks. I have found that if people believe in you and your content, they will support you monetarily. I hope this helps and that you continue to grow. I just subscribed to your content! Keep it up.
I am going to test out a long form post this next issue on overcoming hardship and failure and promote the hell out of it, will share results as opposed to shorter and more direct posts. I am interested in seeing the results.
Hi everyone. I know this has been said before, but I can't stress enough about how it would be helpful to support markdown. Many of us write outside the app in dedicated tools that use markdown (Ulysses, iA Writer, Mars Edit, ...). Copy and paste in rich text is just not good enough (footnotes and links get mangled).
Additionally, it would be great to have multi-user support in the editor once an article is uploaded, so two or more editors can work simultaneously - back and forth editing is so 90s ;)
Lastly, an easy-to-implement API to allow those apps to directly post to Substack. They already do this for the likes of WordPress.
Hi! Fairly new Substack writer here. I'm interested to know where people are doing their networking/advertising to find more people who would be interested in their work.
Would it be more valuable to use my time to post more (currently I post about once a week), or to build a presence outside of substack to build an audience?
It's definitely worth spending the time connecting with other writers who are doing similar content/ topics to you. This doesn't have to take long, but it's been worthwhile to me in terms of growth but also inspiring.
Speaking of new features, I have some requests. Although I know they are more advanced types of requests.
1) The ability to send out at least two different headline and header images of a newsletter, so I can do A/B testing. I have been consciously playing around with this stuff and it is helping engagement. But being able to do A/B testing would be ideal.
2) The ability to create a link that would allow me to make subscriber-only content available to anyone. But just for that story. Ideally, a feature similar to the one the Washington Post has, which allows paid subscribers to "gift" a linked story to someone.
3) I now have two different newsletters going out each day under the same account. And it's a bit confusing, because unless I am missing something, there isn't a way for me to tell how many people are subscribed to each newsletter.
Thanks. I know the A/B testing would be both complicated to code and of limited use to any but the biggest accounts. One reason it's been on my mind is that I have seen differences in open rates depending on the image. My headline is always pretty much the same. For instance, my morning newsletter is brand new and doesn't have a lot of subscribers. So it's easier for me to test things. I've realized that having a photo that focuses on the outside-the-United States TV market increases the open rate about 10%. (although even on a bad day it's averaging a pretty crazy 70+%).
It's harder to tell with my afternoon newsletter, because the sub number is larger and the photo tends to reflect the biggest story I'm highlighting. So it's more difficult to spot trends. The open rate on that one is also lower on average (right around 50%).
Also, one other problem I can't figure out. I have some people telling me they randomly don't receive their newsletter. It seems to somehow be connected to a problem I've noticed with Gmail. I have a Gmail account that is linked to a domain. And some days, I just don't receive a newsletter. It's not in the spam folder, I've eliminated all of sub-tabs Gmail wants me to use (like the promotions tab). It's not sitting in my default domain email folder for some reason. I'm perplexed.
"We acquired Yem, a startup that helped newsletter writers grow their mailing lists and paid subscriber bases through smart email marketing. We’re building the magic of Yem into Substack. "
Just wanted to stop by and thank the team at Substack for doing so much to make marketing our newsletters less time consuming. I remember suggesting as much earlier this year, and I'm thrilled to see you taking the feedback to heart—not that I'm surprised, however. You've always been awesome like that!
I'm loving doing guest posts and making new fans/subs in countries I'd never reached before! Before, What's Curation? (my newsletter) was drawing in readers from the US, Canada, and India. But now, I'm seeing readers from Europe as well! Also, almost at 200 subs. I'm not a huge "ME ME ME" guy, but it'll help if you can spread the word or come check me out and subscribe only if you think it's a fit for you. I have a great About page ;-)
Now if y'all excuse me, I'll be helping out in the comments below.
Hi all - does anyone know if we can add subscribers to just one section of our newsletter? Or do they have to (or do I have to) have them added to all at once? and then they unclick? I'm getting sign ups for my book and would like to have people added to just my book section and homepage section. Any suggestions? Alternatively, if I add someone or someone subscribes, can I then go in and manually unclick the sections they might not want? Thanks.
I know it can be done when you create a new section, and I think it's possible unsubscribe from certain sections on each individual subscriber dashboard. Are you trying to add people manually only to certain sections?
I have a separate mailing list for my book on flodesk because there are so many screens that pop up in substack that I know it annoys some people, and I don't want to lose subscribers. They want info about my book, and I want to send them my monthly 'zine (which is the homepage section). So I now import them in manually but they're signed up for everything. I'd like to be able to import them in to just those 2 sections.
OR, better yet, I would like people to be able to sign up and choose which section they want. Have a sign up with the homepage and book sections already checked. The subscriber can then add other sections if they wish. Then I could get rid of any outside mailing list company. I'm not trying to be rude because I love other substacks, but I want that way more that promoting other substacks or recommendations because that confuses people. And I need to focus on growing my substack and earning some type of income.
Yeah Chris!!! Thanks so much for looking into. It’s my only challenge w substack but it’s a big one when yr trying to grow yr list with non-substack folks. Thanks again!!
I would love the ability for the serialization tool to work within sub-newsletters, as I separate my ongoing serialized books into different sub-newsletters but don't necessarily publish those chapters consecutively, as I have other posts/articles in between.
Agreed! I'm starting a serial before the year's over and would love to keep the navigation of those chapters separate from my other work. But this is a really great start and a nice surprise!
Edit: I'm seeing in other responses that it works on a per section basis. Super exciting!
No pertinent questions. Just wanted to leave a comment as a new writer hoping to gain some traction on my publications. Looking forward to growing with the Substack community.
Love all of what’s happening with Substack. It’s like a sonic boom of possibilities.
In the spirit of sharing, I wanted to recommend a book to our community here of Substackers. It’s called “Fascination” by Sally Hogsheads. A MUST READ for navigating todays world where (in the case of Substack) we are vying for the attention of readers among an infinity of other media outlets (including other Substackers) 😳
The serial buttons are just in time for a serial I’m publishing next month. I’m excited for all the new changes and must say this is an inspiring and dynamic community.
I also love that more customization is coming. We can really make a page ours and each Substack becomes a new experience. Will we be able to have music play when users visit?? Some platforms had that back in the day.
I have a writing process question and I'm curious to hear what others' experiences are.
When I started my Substack, it was a personal project in which I wrote and posted a short essay every Saturday. I ONLY worked on the essays on Saturdays, and posted them the same day, which both prevented me from spinning my wheels revising them all week and created some great deadline pressure to finish the piece to the best of my ability and just put it up. I actually think this is a great way to get started!
But I'm now really looking for more growth, and I'm thinking it might be better to write my essay in advance so that I can do things like choose pull quotes, create images for social media, and add images to the posts (which I hadn't been doing before.) But without the hard post deadline (my readers do expect and look forward to Saturday posts), I do spin my wheels and end up working on the piece until Saturday anyway.
For those who write posts in advance, do you have strategies you use to make sure you finalize them and don't keep fiddling with them until post time?
I like to say my work is “fresh baked”, meaning there is not much lead time between completion and publishing. While I have put good work out that way, it can sometimes be very stressful.
What I started doing was scheduling the release and then finishing by the due date, kind of like a stopwatch. It was helpful. I think I want to move toward more backlog of writing to take the pressure off and schedule much more in advance. It involves trust in yourself but also accountability for completion. There are balancing acts that sometimes have to change. To each work there is a season.
"To each work there is a season" -- I like that! It's helpful to think that it's just about finding the right balance of what works for right now. Thank you.
The only time I write posts in advance is when I know I won’t be able to do it on Friday, my publishing day, and therefore have to write one earlier and schedule it to publish on Friday. When I do that, I don’t go back and edit it at all; I treat it as if I had written it and immediately sent it out on Friday as usual.
Ah, this feels relatable for me! If I know I don't have time on my publishing day, then I've been able to write it sooner and schedule it, but as long as I know I do have time on that day, the post never seems to feel finished enough to schedule because I secretly know I have more time to work on it. Glad to meet someone else who doesn't usually write in advance!
I have a set time I post but I don't actually sit there and press the button at that time, I schedule the post in advance and once it's scheduled I find I can leave it alone. Would that help you?
Thanks, I want to move toward doing this! I often set out to do this but then feel like it's not good enough and I should come back to it later. Maybe over time I can get better at deciding it's done and scheduling it without the hard deadline looming.
I think it's alright if you continue to fiddle with the post. You can still get these pull quotes and graphics ready while you fiddle.
In terms of self-imposing deadlines, I like to plan a fun reward for myself for finishing a post (watch a movie, do some baking). Especially if it's something done with a close friend/my boyfriend who can hold me accountable for having actually done the work.
Thanks for this, it's making me reflect that I had a nice writing routine for Saturdays (it often involved eating pancakes first!) and although I block out time earlier in the week now, I don't have an appealing routine or rewards system that really would support me or keep me accountable to finish earlier. I'll think a little more about this.
Hi Substack team! I love these new tools and features! Thank you for working so hard to help us share our work with readers.
I have a feature request. I'm wondering if it's possible to make the buttons dynamic? Right now, when I put up a subscribe button all of my readers see the same thing. That's great for new people, but kind of a waste for subscribers. I think the button they see actually says something like "manage subscription." But I'm wondering if it's possible for subscribers to see a different CTA in the same button. So for example, if you're a subscriber and logged in, you'd see a "share" button instead of a subscribe button. I think something like that would really help growth.
If you turn it on, it will make your links match your publication colors instead of being black and underlined. It is a design feature and doesn’t change how they work, just how they look.
You can make it so any hyperlinked text is a different color instead of underlined. In my case, any hyperlinked next is now blue, helping it stand out against a dark background.
Thanks Kevin. I'm assuming you can adjust that hyperlink color. Been meaning to subscribe to On Repeat (always need new music)...now I have another reason. Going there next!
A guess, 'cause I think I've seen it before, and maybe used it.....when you highlight something in your post, and then link another article, what color can you make the highlighted item?
Please provide more detailed information about how stats are triggered.
Specifically, how an "open" is triggered?
Considering this is the metric you present to all writers, my investigation into it suggests it is the most misleading and inaccurate metric of all of the metrics relating to subscriber behaviour.
In no way does "open" relate to "read", when you talk to subscribers about what they actually do.
Looks to me like you're presenting a metric that can be machine triggered and/or has little meaning.
Hey Ignasz -- We do our best to exclude likely-machine-triggered events from open tracking, but 'opens' remain a bit noisy: We will count someone clicking on an email as an 'open' even if they do not read the email in its entirety. And a single subscriber might trigger multiple 'opens' by using multiple devices or forwarding emails to their friends.
If you are seeing stats problems with a particular post please let me know and I'd be happy to investigate further.
It can be triggered by someone just rolling over their emails or using a rule/filter to mark them as read e.g. "move to substack folder and mark as read"
Yet substack doesn't explain how weak the opens metric is and presents it as the primary metric to writers.
I was wondering about this, because one of my friends "opens" my emails, like, 50 times and I'm flattered but also kinda want her to chill. haha Maybe she's forwarding it?
Sadly my current work schedule keeps me from joining in during Office Hours. But even though I'm late, I just have to say THANK YOU for the previous & next post links feature!!!! I think it will be great for any publication, but it's especially handy for those of us with serial projects. :)
I answered product news in the polls, but the real answer is all of the above. Honestly, I like that approach. I don't feel overwhelmed by Substack product news. But what's great about hearing the news in different channels is that I don't always have the bandwidth to read about the announcement the first time I see it. All of the above means I eventually find out what I need to know.
From the product update e-mails. My schedule changed recently and I haven't been able to make Office Hours for a while now. For that reason I've appreciated being able to get those updates via e-mail. That being said, I'm here today. So, spill all the tea, Katie! Tell us everything Substack is developing. We'll keep it a secret. I promise.
If you don’t she will have to shoot you 😂😂😂
Question about media assets: Since many social media platforms don’t favor initial posts with outside links and so some of us put the link in the second comment or create a thread with it at the end, is there an easy way to do that using the media assets? Also, same question about the “Share on Twitter” and “Share on FB” options when we publish new posts.
I really like the media assets option
I’m confused whether this space is for Substack to promote their new products or actually help us use the already existing products by answering our questions?? I have so pretty basic things I’m trying to understand and haven’t been able to get any questions answered (also tried last week!).
I don't work for Substack, but maybe I know the answer. What are your questions?
Thanks John! that's sweet. Here are some of the questions I've been posing to the Substack team (I haven't found any answers in their FAQ):
For the Post Cover:
Can you have a Video (instead of a photo)? If so, how will it show on peoples Feed (first shot from the video or do you get to choose cover image for video?)
Paid Subscribers:
Is there a certain number of subscribers your recommend having before adding a paid subscription option?
Podcast:
I see people can offer their podcast to paid subscribers AND also have it on Apple Podcasts (and other platforms) but in a private way? How is this done?
Keep in mind, I'm just an end user. So, none of this is official.
1. As far as I know you can not use video for your post cover. I've never seen anyone do that which makes me think it's not currently possible.
2. I don't think they have stated hard numbers for how many free subscribers you should have before offering a paid option. Rather, they tell you that their data suggests that normally between 5-10% of your free subscribers end up converting to paid. With that in mind, it's just a matter of you doing the math to figure out how much money you want to make from your newsletter based off of that conversion rate.
3. Again, this is just a guess. I believe it's done by creating a private RSS feed that has a unique address for each subscriber.
That’s a lot! I’ve come at the right time lol
Honestly, I’ve learned about almost all of them from either On Substack itself, or office hours.
Same here. I appreciate the short articles from On Substack that provide a summary of new features.
I ran into some of the new features on the dashboard. I would love dedicated product update emails as well as banners/messages in the dashboard.
Yes, your "product update emails" are great and I read every word...I don't always understand it, but do read it!
I will say post updates & office hours in that order. I would love for you guys to make the messages section more usable. Will drive more substack users to their accounts & discover stuff i.e us newbie substack authors :)
I meant the dashboard. So writers have more incentive to visit that often enough & hopefully stumble to discover section.
I'm confused, the Dashboard is only on the back end
I don't really care about new features. As long as it does the basics.
I'd love to go car-shopping with you!
The “awesome” new features do indeed spark “joy” in me, but at this stage of my Substack adventure, I also have to agree with Liam. “I don't really care about new features. As long as it does the basics.” A couple of months ago, I decided to go full boom into learning all the neat ways that Substack could help me reach more people with my insights from 25-years of addiction (anyone can have an off quarter-century!) and the following 25 as an Addiction Counselor. My relocation to a small city in the middle of the state, surrounded by Reservations and ranches, has allowed me to work with various cultures and with generations of the same family and view the same problems through the eyes of different cultures.
Another part of my plan was to connect with some of the supportive “influencers” that I met on these pages, learn from them and offer support to them. That has gone well and even led to some referrals from them, but…
My initial enthusiasm for becoming some kind of a Substack multi-media wizard has faded as I realized that “Merlin’s Newsletter” has suffered from my forays into this or that new feature and not into populating it with those insights.
I could write about many subjects. I agree with Mike Sowden that *Everything is Amazing*, but my primary focus is supposed to be on encouraging folks in early recovery with the Information and Inspiration to hang in there through the tough times that follow, once we have decided to throw away the false crutches that only lead us downhill and learn how to walk on our own legs. The legs that can power us “uphill,” if we make the effort and take advantage of the available support groups.
*Early Recovery is Bick* but maintaining it once we have settled on a useful program and stick to it, will cease to be a struggle and the benefits in all areas of our lives will make it obvious why we embarked on this new adventure.
You might like this: https://chrisdangerfield.substack.com/p/whatever-happened-to-hunting
I like browsing through the email update. It is easy and y'all do a nice job of highlighting the most important call-outs.
Sometimes I hear about the changes by email, but Office Hours is definitely the place I learn about them.
I always read the product update emails (even if I notice the update in the dashboard or office hours first).
Maybe this already exists, but if not a Substack page with nothing but articles about features and updates and detailed instructions on how to use them.
Appreciate knowing I can always hear the latest news and updates in Office Hours, then go directly to the comment section to share my excitement or ask clarifying questions. Feels like we're all in this together.
I learn about them from the emails - that's how I ended up here today!
I’ve learned most feature changes from the regular post updates. Though trying to join office hours more often.
I don’t usually come to office hours unless I have questions, so I didn’t realize product updates happen in here! I love the dedicated product update posts personally!
I'd say mostly through the Substack email, dashboard updates and Office Hours. The more I think about it you should continue following the Tesla model that keeps sending software updates to car owners - in our case the Substack writers ;)
I get in from their emails.
Hi. Don’t want to rain on the parade, but my stats have another source bringing me 2:1 new subscriptions. Meaning for every 1 I get from you guys, the other source brings 2. I’m not a huge entity here, and I haven’t been here long, but I thought I’d toss this into the mix.
Do you care to identify that other, mysterious source that is giving you a wealth of new subscriptions ?
https://inboxreads.co/
The categories/topics you choose really matter.
I haven't fine-tuned categories, but I'm already seeing some folks signing up. Thanks for this!
Where do you choose categories/topics? Sorry to be dense, but can't seem to do more than heart other blogs or newsletters.
After you login you’ll be on your dashboard where you can see your publication. Click the edit button on the picture of your submission. You’ll see the form you filled out when you originally submitted your publication. The “topics” field in the form is where you play around with categories/topics. Remember to hit submit at the very bottom of the form.
How long after you submitted did you see any new subscribers?
It wasn’t instant, it took months. But that was after I fine tuned the categories I listed on the newsletter description.
Good to know. Thank you!
You're welcome. Don't get discouraged.
In my case is 0 from them and 100% from my social media. I'm pretty new here though
It takes a while to get them from Substack.
How long it took for you? I started on sept 7
I started December last year. Only started getting Substack last two months. Commenting on other Substack helps. Just had 30 from LinkedIn so far in the last 3 days. Have had to message 1300 contacts. Still have 1200 to go! Email me for what to say
Ally, do you mind sharing what you're doing for social media? I made a concerted effort on Instagram this summer (grew my audience from 200-1,000) and it doesn't seem to be generating much action for me.
I share on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram as stories, I posted 1 reef and I share every post I make on substack. For Instagram I post carousels offering a sneak peak of the post and encourage people to check it out using the link in my bio. You can check out my Instagram to see how I post https://www.instagram.com/allyfortis/
The growth is slow, I started on Sept 7.
I’ve had a slow but steady drip of subscribers from The Sample, too. https://thesample.ai/?ref=aeb3
I’ve been on the sample as well. Ditto what you said, InboxReads has been more successful for me though. One thing I did notice with the sample was when your newsletter is shared you pick up subscribers. It’s happened twice for me. You can pay to have it shared more often, I haven’t crossed that bridge yet!
See response to David.
Thanks Collette
Really excited about boost feature. Yet to go paid but prospects look tantalizing. Amazing job substack team!
I’m not sure I understand how Boost works. Does Substack give us advice on what to do or does Substack do it automatically? That is, does Substack using this new feature automatically email our subscribers without us knowing?
Yes. Once you turn on boost, substack will create some target email campaigns to send to your existing subs base to drive more paid subs or lower cancel rates. I guess they will use analytics to find cohorts of users (most engaged, repeat readers, etc.) & target them with discounts, free trials, etc.
IMPORTANT QUESTION: Please clarify the following:
Will boost automatically send various e mails about us to various parties
OR
Will boost first apprise us of what e mail it proposes to send out to various parties, giving us the option of vetoing the transmission of the e mails.
Email re-engagement strategies should be approached with caution. An automated "Hey, you ain't reading." or "Hey, you seem to like this. Care to pay for it?" could lead to unsubscribes. I'm keeping this option turned off because it's too early days. Remember, growth is only a fraction of the equation. But great questions you asked, David.
Your note of caution is very well taken. An e mail saying something like,
"Hey, you ain't reading," may seem like a snarky attack from an obnoxious teacher and I could easily see that prompting someone to unsubscribe.
You said, "I'm keeping this option turned off..."
On what program or platform or substack setting does this option appear.
+1 to this question. From what I've read so far is seems boost is an all or nothing option, but I'd love some clarification.
From what I read & understand, users always have an option to turn off automated emails that substack will send on your behalf. Turning off emails will be as good as turning off boost ?
I am still not sure if Boost will "create" some target email campaigns to RECOMMEND to us to send or it does it on its own––without us approving it or operating it ourselves.
I am not sure if I like the idea of an algorithm sending out emails from my account. In fact, I am sure I do not.
SUBSTACK, can you answer? (-:
I definitely love the custom wordmark. I'm not sure about mine as the one I've got might be a bit small, but it's something to work on.
I'm a web and graphic designer if you want I can try helping you
I followed their directions for size and scaling and mine is still too small. Not sure why. Looks like crap :-(
I'm a graphic designer. Maybe I can help you 🤷🏻♀️
Thanks! That's very kind of you. I'm allegedly a graphic designer too, but for some reason I still had trouble with it, haha. In the end, I might just go back to the old font... :-)
Same problem here. Way too small to be readable. Tried many different things. Update needed.
Asked this question in the main feed by accident: I'm wondering: does Boost make sense if your newsletter doesn't have a paid subscription option yet?
Right now Boost is only for paid newsletters, as it focuses on free -> paid conversion. That said, we definitely have some stuff we're working on for growing your free list too, it's just not under the Boost umbrella.
Excited to see what you have in the pipeline for free lists. Not all of us are at the stage where we’re thinking about paid subscriptions yet… I’m always interested in new tools to help get there.
Ben, I will be waiting with bated breath for this feature to land. Any hints on timelines ?
Wait no longer, Boost is live today! You can turn it on here: https://your.substack.com/publish/settings?search=boost#enable-boost
Ben, can we see what's sent in our names and approve? I just had a look at the boilerplate letter for referrals (which I am certain wasn;t there when the program started) and wasn't thrilled: Not my style at all
Thanks for posting that most pertinent question.
BTW, please check out my newsletter. If you like it, please recommend me. I will now check our your newsletter.
Always willing to return the favor. Looking forward to reading and learning from you.
Thank you.
And I hope I may learn from you.
My understanding of the Substack playbook for going paid was to first build a following of free subscribers. I have 800, which doesn't seem like enough to launch paid content yet. But the new Boost tool is useless to me if I don't have paid subscribers. Am I stagnating my growth by waiting longer to turn on paid subscriptions?
If you have 800 subscribers, I would definitely say it's time to turn on paid subscriptions.
Can you explain why?
I went paid from the start. I have a very small following (I’ve only been up and running for about a month), but I felt that as a reader I’d rather know from the start what to expect vs loving to read something only to have it blocked by a paywall somewhere in the future when they decided to go paid. My vote is go ahead and turn it on.
You can turn on paid at any time. I am puny and have it on. While you have to feel out your audience (people aren’t always paying for exclusive content), a lot will just pay to support the work you do. Try it.
Agreed.
Just go ahead and turn on paid - you don't have much to lose by doing that.
My opinion only: enable paid subs today! You might only get 1 or 2, but that’s more than you’ll get right now.
Hey Joshua,
I kind of ignored the conventional wisdom and used a podcast model to going paid with my Battlegrounds+ newsletter.
Basically, I put out a series of related posts, and mix in some standalones. Those standalones are in-depth and meaty. I make those for paid subs only. The regular series are free.
But then I’ll lock the older series behind the paywall. So all subs get the current series free, but to see the archives are the standalone posts, they need to upgrade.
I feel the same as you Joshua on the going paid front. When I started a year ago, my initial target before even thinking of going paid was at least 1000 free subscribers (and it's still the milestone I need to reach). For the time being, I feel confortable with my approach as I only have time to publish monthly anyway. Before putting some material behind a paywall, I will have to increase my frequency. Good luck !
Thanks for this update, Katie. I turned on paid subscriptions when I started and a year later, I am still keeping everything free. I do have some paid subscriptions, though, including from folks I don't know, which helps me keep going! I am still struggling about how and when to paywall some content.
Thanks so much for sharing this, Joan, I am only now realizing this option of free and paid getting the same content, assumed 'paid' implied getting different content. Just started last week, so I have lots to learn! I can imagine it'll be hard to decide exactly when right time to establish a paywall, and what kind of content to hold for paid subs.
Great! Very excited to try this out. BTW, I have some questions about new features: I clicked the button for Referrals, but I have no idea what happens from there. Do we get to see the message sent to readers?
Also, I just okayed :Enable previous & next post links:, and I see the top right button on the post I'm writing now says "Continue" instead of "publish" What happens when I click it, she says nervously?
Weird, it does say continue now! But I clicked it and it just goes to the same settings page it always has!
Valorie, Annie just explained above, but thanks for jumping in! :)
Hi Annette! This was a small tweak we made to the copy on that button and is unrelated to the serialization features. We're hoping that it makes it a little clearer that there are a few more settings to review before the post goes fully live.
Oh, good idea! Yes, I'm sure it makes new folks anxious to hit "Publish" (it did me!) Thanks, Annie and team. Oh, and throwing caution to the wind, I just okayed Boost. :)
I'm pretty new here, but all my subscribers come from my facebook and Instagram and 0 from Substack.
Initially my publication was this way too. I actually think the benefits of substack are more long-term. For example, having recommendations on, counts as new growth from the substack network. Newer publications need time to build up a healthy recommendation network. It took me months to network with other writers. Now, our mutual recommendations bring us hundreds of new subs.
That's how it was for me initially. But now I'm getting a lot of new subs through the network. The more you publish and other writers and commenters read your work, it starts to snowball.
It sounds like you must have a good presence on those two platforms!
I’m not sure I understand how Boost works. Does Substack give us advice on what to do or does Substack do it automatically? That is, does Substack using this new feature automatically email our subscribers without us knowing?
Boost is automatic! Once you opt in we take care of all the heavy lifting when it comes to marketing. That said, boost is primarily not about emailing subscribers (or anybody) - most of what we're targeting initially involves readers interacting with the platform on the web.
Thanks, Ben. You said "primarily." Can I be sure if I enable boost that not a single email will be sent out of my account to my subscribers without my knowing about it.
I am having "Big Brother" anxiety.
LMK. Thanks,
Hey,
Worry not, we will never send emails from you/your account.
Any emails that your subscriber gets will be from Substack (other than the posts that you send, obviously).
Thanks, Ben. One more vital question. I have told almost all my subscribers that their email addresses will NOT be used by Substack but only by me. Are you now saying that in fact by turning on Boost that I will be violating this promise to my readers? I told them that signing was private, and their privacy would be maintained.
I am just look for the straight truth here.
Thanks,
Well, that is the point, I think...whether emails will be sent automatically from Substack directly to our specific email list. So you are saying the answer is "Yes" : Once we enable Boost, Substack will send automatic emails to our subscribers in a targeted fashion. The emails will, of course, not come from the authors of the newsletter, but from Substack. Is this correct, Ben? Thanks!
This is good!
Is the primary purpose of boost to stop paid subscribers from cancelling?
Nope! Boost also will help attract new paying subscribers and convert your existing loyal free readers to paying ones.
can we modify the message Boost sends out to existing free subscribers before it sends?
Hi there. I'm new to Substack, only started about a month ago so am learning. I opted into Boost today, but honestly, I'd like to wait a while to understand it better - I read some of the discussion here and I don't feel comfortable with my subscribers being contacted not by me, if that makes sense! I read that you can opt out of Boost any time, but I can't see it in my Settings. How can I do this? Many thanks!
Obviously, Substack has A LOT of explaining to do.
No one seems to understand what Boost is––how it operates.
SUBSTACK, let's hear from you please (-:
Seems like they explain it pretty well. The top of this thread links to a post all about boost. You can also see the feature explained here:
https://support.substack.com/hc/en-us/articles/9674586580244
Nope, that doesn't explain any of the concerns that Eli Merritt had and he had to ask again and again to get a straight answer.
Are you saying there is a Substack Network that drives subscriptions? Well it isn't working for me. I've got 18 subscribers and it never increases. Granted I haven't posted for a few weeks but even when I was posting regularly the only people joining were real life friends. I don't get it???
It doesn't happen automatically. It depends on connecting with other writers, generally those who are writing on similar topics. For example, it works with things like writers recommending each other.
As with making anything on the internet, it takes a lot of online engagement to be seen by anyone at all. I do this and only have 40 subs. The hope is that those lead to more with the recommendation feature but it’s a lot of work upfront. At least Substack has a vast community to discover and engage with. It’s hard to find the right community but with enough time and effort, subs will eventually happen.
I'm a writer not a marketing executive lol
Traditional publishing might be for you then! There’s more creative freedom in a newsletter or blog but that’s the job of a publication company.
Question for you; when is referral system launched to all substack creators?
ps.
Would love to participate as a beta-tester if you need some.
Yes, great questions below. Are they answered anywhere? I also would have. problem not approving content that went out to my subscribers ahead of time via Boost...
Thanks!
https://support.substack.com/hc/en-us/articles/9674586580244
This is what I found
Hello all, and happy Office Hours! Here's a little bit of encouragement from one small newsletter to all of you: as difficult as it is to deal with "crickets" when you post, no/low engagement doesn't mean that what you're doing isn't working, as long as it's working for YOU. These things take time! If you write what YOU truly want to write, the audience will show up. Build community, not numbers! Understand that some of your most avid readers may never comment, share, or hit the like button! But they'll show up, every time. Write for the silent few. Write for the faithful ones. Write for YOU! And never, ever give up! 🌿
I get anxiety now whenever I post since having my first paid subscribers and am trying to not put pressure on myself or make it more difficult than it needs to be. This is good advice and a good reminder. Not every post can be amazing, but I will try to do my job nonetheless.
Yesss! It can be jarring when we're so used to social media platforms where engagement is a metric of success. I used to be so bothered by the fact that none of my readers really like or comment on my post, but it doesn't mean they're not reading! I've had some readers I know in real life mention my posts in conversation every now and then. I was glad to find that my content resonates with them. :")
The IRL readers make my day! Another form of engagement and...ahem...validation for the self-doubt that lurks on the corners of this writer’s brain
Thank you! I sometimes get discouraged when I notice that someone who's responded to my posts with likes and comments before stops responding after a certain point. It can feel as if they no longer like your work. However, for all I know, it doesn’t mean much, since they could be busy and not have time to read my posts or they're still reading them but don't have much to say. By keeping in mind that I don't know what these subscribers might have going on, it feels easier to handle not hearing from them as often as before.
Hey, T.V.! I've been writing a blog since 2009 and my first unsubscribe was my brother. :) It still makes me laugh. In all fairness to him, I just signed him up without asking. Writing on any platform is humbling to our egos. Now, when I see an unsubscribe, I just say "adios." I think you answered your own question when you said they might be busy. YES! I detest email and am constantly having to unsubscribe from newsletters, even if I like them. So, just keep writing what you love and I promise you that the right people will respond at the right time. I came over to Substack from my website and from Mailchimp and gave my subscriber list the option to come with me or not. Probably not a very smart move but it felt right to me. The people who really want to read my newsletter will come. I've only been writing here since August and I LOVE it here!
As someone who started a music blog back in 2001 (HAH!), I wrote for NO ONE for a long time. It was three years before I made a dime, and another FOUR YEARS from then 'til I leveraged the site to get a web job at a music publication (added the site to my resume on Monster hahah).
So yes yes yes - you have to just keep writing for you, in your tone, in your style. It's not that people don't care about what you're writing about, it's that they have no idea (probably) that you're even writing it. It's a big world wide web out there!
Wish I could like this more than once!
This is really the heart of it. I get it that Substack are always promoting ways to get paid subs, it's a business. But at the heart of any good project is the work. Write it. Promote it - they will come. Do I think a pay-wall helps? No. Would it be nice to get paid? of course. But they are quite separate, and I'd concentrate on the former until you have at least 2000 subs. Then there's plenty of obvious strategies to convert some to paid, but you'll always only be converting a percentage of your existing subs to paid, so the question is - how much will that magical content behind the pay-wall upset your free subs? How much will it make new subs less likely to sign up? I'd also advise all new Substack people to look into the 1000 True Fans Rule.
Agree 1000%
Do the work, do the work, do the work. For how long? That's the hard part, you don't know. But you just gotta put in the work.
https://kk.org/thetechnium/1000-true-fans/
"Write for you" -- definitely good advice. I've found that when I write about something with vigour (I cannot think of another way of describing it: 'passion' is not quite right), I get more engagement and more enjoyment.
Wise and encouraging words. Thanks, and I agree with everything you wrote and have found it to be true both with my newsletter here and the writing I do on Medium. My tagline in my bio is “I write to change lives, starting with my own,” and I benefit from writing and publishing my thoughts whether or not I have a huge following or make big bucks!
This is so true. I was reading about growing my subscriber base both paid and unpaid and came across an article that stated it took this particular author almost a year to go from 0 to 1000 subscribers and only two months to from from 1000-2000. Keep after it and you will grow. It just takes time. Thanks for the motivation!
Can i start with no paid subscribers and offer that later? Or simply have a "support my work" line and let it be optional, like a tip jar?
Absolutely you can! I turned on paid subscriptions as sort of a "hey, support my work if you like" option, just like a tip jar.
Either option is fine. Early on, your goal is to grow free subscribers, regardless of whether you have a paid option. There's no harm in opening up the option for people to pay if they want to though
Recently, in a How to Grow piece the author indicated that a *very* small proportion of her subscribers were “paid,” but still had a sufficient income to satisfy her expectations. She said something to effect that “The Free subscribers are my “audience,” but the paid get to come backstage and see more about the process.” (Not even close to a quote). Also, that some “paid” are paying just to be supportive, because you are publishing something that needs to be said.
On another front, I have written comments that I would have liked to get myself and run into a paywall. I don’t get that at all. I often get as much out of comments on the news sites as from the original article, especially if it is an opinion piece.
And comments about the comments. That is what I consider “engagement” if the comments are about substance and not ad hominem attacks, e.g. Your mother wears combat boots” (Sorry. A put down from my elementary days in the 1950’s)
I like S. E. ‘s admonition to the effect of “Be gracious or you will have to leave.” BTW, I’m wondering why the sudden drop off of out-and-out trollage since Putin invaded Ukraine. Has he assigned them to other duties?
I opened up a paid option from the very beginning, but I make all my content available to everyone (for now). You can see the language I use in my About Page, but I basically say that paying is like saying, Hey I like you and I want to read more! haha
Old Faithful! I mean Young Faithful!
Totally! I have been writing enough to publish regularly since the BB (Before Blogs) era, but self-doubt, procrastination and a series of health issues in my late Seventies, have kept me from completing ideas and hitting that button. I just realized today that I leave more writing on “comments” than I publish on my own. And, lately, seismic events in my local family, have distracted me. Although, I still got into several active discussions, for instance with Moviewise, who invited me to share a Guest Post. An Invitation I intend to accept when I have cleared some of my current obligations. I am not a movie buff, but I suggested that perhaps something from my own interests could lead to a sub Substack post on his site called “Musicwise.” He thought that was a “great idea.” He even suggested that I follow up on that with “lessons” from a non-musical, musical from 1957, *The Girl Can’t Help It*
All I would have to do is read the Wiki article to refresh my memory, so I just might do that, but also, anyone who thinks that a sharing lessons learned from music in a “Musicwise” piece should consider sharing those thoughts with him and writing it. He also liked the “meta-lesson” I shared with him from my Addiction Counseling days, “When you lose, don’t lose the lesson.”
I see that following a brief illness, most of my commenting today is more like a comment to myself, calling for “accountability.” That includes you, S. E. as I have thoughts about your topics, but lacked the energy to expand on them. Or even read some of the Free subscriptions I signed up for in my initial enthusiasm to learn about “all things Substack.”
Sorry to hear of your family issues. I empathize as I have faced and am facing family health issues.
Funnily enough, I have been re-watching The Girl Can't Help It, on YouTube. I haven't read the Wikipedia article, but two lessons that stood out for me were the art of the bluff and not looking too keen. (The scene where Miller takes Jane Mansfield to various clubs to get people noticing her and talking about her.) Not sure how you can use that, but I think publishing even half-thought-out stuff or half-finished stuff has its value. And it would be good to have your thoughts in one or more places you own so that people can keep returning to them easily. Hope that is useful in some way.
It is useful. “Very.” I have trouble giving myself permission to send my "half-finished stuff” out the door, but then go haring after some other “bright idea from a dim bulb” and never send it anywhere, except to my array of hard drives. Hence, my nickname, “Incomplete Pete.”
Also, “good to have your thoughts in one or more places...” I was thinking about Guest Posting with Moviewise and other places then, after a couple of weeks, when his subscribers have had time to read them, reposting them on what is now known as Merlin’s Newsletter. That way, someone who wasn’t hip to Moviewise might check his site out as well.
I am big on Win-Win in human interactions. If you count benefits *not* received by the “Winner,” there is no Win-Lose, just Win-Win or Lose-Lose. Granted, the exchange might be lopsided, so that observers would see a clear winner, but who knows how many rippling benefits for *every one* were never sent towards humanity’s shore and given their own opportunity to spark creativity.
I just ran across *The Girl Can’t Help It* on Wikipedia, while trying confirm that it was in the Drive-In Theaters in 1957, during the summer I spent in Tucson and traveled Route 66 the first time. I have incomplete accounts of my second trip, in 1964 that have not met the criteria for publication by this Imperfectionist.
If I remembered to post it in the 9-22 Writers’ Hour, it should be there, along with his encouraging response, which then led more “ripples,” it is enough to make one seasick, just thinking about it.
:-) go for it!
I was about to write, "I'm as good as gone," then remembered my vow to deal in surprises, instead of promises.
BTW, your reply just floated in, but it indicated you sent it,
11 hr ago
Thank you for your encouragement! I've been telling myself this for years and refuse to play all the social media games so my corner of the internet has always been super small. I thought Substack would be a great place to start fresh. It's hard to keep showing up when you're still looking for your community. But, I will persist. I'm aiming to launch the first part of my art newsletter by the end of the week!
Excellent advice. Bravo. 
What a beautiful approach. Thank you.
Thanks for the words of encouragement!
There it is!
Thank you as always. 😀
You always encourage me, S.E. Thanks so much!
Just want to say that I've been in a writer's slump for about a month, but I think the wind in my sails are slowly coming back! Sitting in a cozy bakery in drizzly Portland with a coffee and pastry during Writer Office hours is my new thang.
Feel that slump at some point every day. It's natural. From my view, the key is not to believe it means anything other than a momentary blip. Coffee helps too. I miss the Seattle drizzle for creative output!
drizzle helps the output for sure.
I've found connecting with other Substack writers to be really inspiring. Your routine for Office Hours sounds lovely
Fall is a good time to get back in the writing saddle!
Nanowrimo season!
I've added office hours to my calendar because I love meeting new people in here. Also I'm from cozy and drizzly Seattle - I think we're built for coffee and online community in the PNW!
Drizzle is definitely good for writers, as is sitting in a cafe!
We all go through slumps. The important thing is to keep going and not give up. Perspective is important for me. I write for me and hope it helps others. This helps alleviate some of my anxiety around writing and helps get me out of my slumps too.
Sounds ideal...
Love this! Miss PDX dearly.
PDX is sort of mad max from thunder dome version these days. But you can't beat the food and coffee!
Jealous! Sounds lovely.
it's totally lovely!
I haven't connected much with other Substack writers, but would like to! I'm also in the PNW, in Seattle right now but will be moving between here, Bellingham, and PDX again at some point for the next few months.
Sounds lovely! I miss small coffee shops. I'm in Chicago and we lost so many of them because of the shutdowns...
It's my happy space! I literally want to create an entire career just sitting in cafes around the world, drinking coffee, listening to funky lo-fi music and writing.
Wow! That sounds like my ideal life. I remember living in Ft. Lauderdale and sitting in an outdoor Border's cafe overlooking the ocean. Stunning.
livin' the dream...
That's sad. Similar thing happened in my neck of the woods (London)
Love the custom wordmark. Makes it feel more and more like my own publication ❤️
Agreed! It's so nice! Can't wait to make mine.
Your wordmark looks good, and you were quick on that menu bar. Nice work.
Thank you for the help there Neal :)
Is that on paid only?
Aaach! I didn't know. custom watermark was available. Will now check settings.
I went onto settings and saw it was available :) my graphic designer got straight on it. 🤣❤️
Hello 👋 Appreciate all y'all.
That's all I've got.
Like a lob in tennis, Matt, right backatcha!! I'd jump over a net, but I don't think I know her well enough.😁
Dear lord I wasn’t aware of the new serialization tool until reading this. I’m publishing a serialized novel and have been going into each individual post and inserting a table of contents with updated links. I think I’ll keep doing this so that people can go to the very beginning from any post, or to the end if they need it, but I hope this saves me from having to update every single post just so that my readers can easily navigate to the next chapter. Thanks Substack!
Kerry, you raise a good point. I wonder if Substack couldn't also add a "Start at the beginning" button. The Previous and Next are great if you have been with the story from the beginning, but if you're coming into part 6 out of 10 it's not quite as helpful... unless you keep clicking Previous over and over.
John - You might also try adding a custom button to your posts that just links to the first post in the series.
Hey Chris, if you scroll down to my question about serialization tools you'll see that another engineer at Substack named Chris has replied to it. The profile picture makes it seem like it's a different Chris. Also, there is Chris Best. Do you guys have a whole Chris Collective going on over there? Has HR considered reviewing hiring practices to determine if there is an on-going discrimination problem against people not named Chris? Just asking because of my curiosity.
Ah. So there is a defined nomenclature. Apparently, I'm not the first person to notice this.
That's a great idea. Sometimes the best tools are right in front of us. Thanks.
Hey John - I've been doing custom buttons for this for a while on my serial. You can see it in action here: https://simonkjones.substack.com/p/51-zealots-part-3
The more that this stuff gets built-in the better, though, as it'd make the general presentation neater and a bit more standardised.
Simon, you have a nice implementation at the link you shared above. I really like how you begin with a summary of what has happened in previous chapters. That’s smart.
I modelled it loosely on episodic television: a recap, intro sequence, then into the main chunk of the episode. Only problem is that if I change the format now, I have over 50 posts to go through and tweak...
As soon as Chris mentioned the idea of creating a custom button, I had one of those “I should have thought of that” moments. It’s so obvious… and so powerful. I’d seen that option in the drop down for a while now, but never had actively thought about how it might be exploited.
Do you (or anyone else) have any insight on the upper character limit for what’s possible to be included on the button?
Thanks! I only started doing it after publishing about 10 chapters, at which point I had to go back and add it back in. Which was very tedious!
I don't know if there's a character limit. However, as a call-to-action button I'd be inclined to keep it short and snappy and easily scannable.
Thanks for the suggestion John! That seems quite useful for longer serialized pieces. I'll forward your idea to the team.
Yeah, this is hugely exciting news. The ability to have some sort of built-in drop-down menu, maybe near the top of a serialised page, would also be amazing, so that readers can easily hop around different chapters (like flicking through a book).
Simon ... agree! I'm in a support conversation about this since I've looked around and can't find the tool mentioned. If I get an interesting response, I'll share it.
Yeah, design-wise it's a bit more complicated to implement, but if they can figure it out (and I'm sure they can) it'll be the final piece of the puzzle for serial writers.
Well, the conversation so far has not revealed any "new tools." Updating an initial post with a table of contents seems to be the only option. ;-(
I love it too! I have been going back to edit each older piece with a click to the next in the series and now I don't have to!
Kerry ... could you tell me what you mean by "serialization tool"? I'm very interested but can't seem to find anything like what you're talking about. Thanks for any help you can provide.
Hi Joyce, we're referring to the serialization tool described in this post which allows readers move to the previous and next publication on a post.
Thanks!
Wow! I didn't know about this tool ... how do I find it? Thanks!
Also a question for any Substack people who may see this and know the answer. The Serialization tools can be set up on a per publication basis? Is that right? So, if I have My Main Publication and then My Serialized Fiction and My Angst Ridden Notes of Ennui, could I set them up on one of those My Serialized Fiction or is it universal?
Amazing! I didn't realise at first.
Katie, you seem to know what Kerry means but I've been in a support conversation where this isn't ringing a bell. Several of us are interested in the possibility of a "new serialization tool."
I just launched my newsletter six weeks ago, but I wanted to express my gratitude to the Substack team and to this community. You've made every step of the process so straightforward. I love hearing about the new features and picking up various tips and tricks from the other writers in these threads. More than anything, I really appreciate the fact that this platform makes me feel like I'm in such good hands that all I have to do is concentrate on the writing. Thanks again, everyone.
I agree. I’ve published mine for about six months now, and as someone who is not a tech expert (to put it mildly) I appreciate how easy it was for me to figure out and use Substack to publish and send my newsletter. Also, these writer office hours are awesome! I learn new things, discover other writers in my niche (mental health) or others that interest me, and get encouragement and a sense of community.
Also, I love your newsletter title and write on similar topics, so I just subscribed.
Thanks, Wendi. Right back at ya! =-)
Chris, I loved reading the Boy with Super Powers.
I have subscribed.
Keep up the great ramble.
I agree with you, that is a super power.
There is one superpower you forgot. That is your smile 😅
Thanks so much, Sanjukt. I love the idea behind Voisegram! I'm going to pass it along to some other folks that I think might really be interested in it.
Chris, we also wrote about a Superpower :)
https://voisegram.substack.com/p/a-secret-superpower
What is the name of the newsletter with the post you loved so much
It’s listed at the top of this thread. “Chris Fights Demons.”
Thanks for responding to my question
The serialization tool is really exciting! I know a lot of fiction writers who will be excited about that one. And if you are writing fiction, you should join the Fictionistas community on Substack.
https://fictionistas.substack.com/
I love "previous" and "next" post link buttons! I just implemented them, and my newsletter, "moviewise: Life Lessons From Movies" is NOT serialized, but it's nice to allow readers to easily go to another article! THANK YOU SUBSTACK 🤗🥳
I agree. I think it will help keep people in the universe of our newsletters if they can keep hitting next or previous.
Yessss!!
Really happy with the Substack experience since I joined in late 2020; proud to see how far it's come and how much enthusiasm is still rolling forward to new and better features, while staying true to the spirit of Substack and not kowtowing to include features from other services which would dilute the brand. The recent inclusion of the Media Assets feature, for instance, is a great touch!
I agree. I'm loving the media assets as a way to include another feature in my IG.
Well, this poll is a little slanted because you're asking people who are coming into office hours. I'd think that would weigh this in favor of that answer. If I can't make office hours, I don't want to miss an update, so I'd say to both dashboard and office hours.
I find out by their e-mails, and I noticed that wasn't a supplied answer. Unless they include e-mails as an Office Hours component.🤔
Agree on this!
Would it be possible to gain visibility to read through rates for individual posts? For example, something that tells us 23% of your audience stopped reading this post at this paragraph. If you can't get that granular, then tell us percentages for people who finished reading the entire post? Some type of data like that. I hope you folks will consider providing us some type of information like that.
I would be interested to see the data behind this idea, if it ever gets implemented. However, that might cause me to overthink: Why didn't my readers finish the post? (I'm an overthinker.)
Could this work for the podcasts and video formats we produce as well? Hmm...
The app says what percentage you’ve read, perhaps that could be collated into a metric in your dashboard. Good idea.
Thanks.
I would like everyone to know my stitches are coming out in a few hours and my dental ordeal is nearly over: https://jimruland.substack.com/p/the-savage-dentists
The Savage Dentists! I loved their debut album! But, seriously, Jim, a speedy and pain-free recovery, and may you soon be back to tolerating taffy!!
Many thanks!
And, thank YOU for subbing! I hope you enjoy perusing the varied archives...and, the upcoming articles!
De nada! Looking forward to checking it out.
I'll give you an exclusive sneak peek! Friday (tomorrow) at 1pm (CT), I'll be dropping a GROW BIGGER EARS, a Suburban Cowboy Edition...a handful of pop-leaning country songs this rocker has come to not only tolerate, but actually kinda dig! Check out some previous GBEs to get in the groove!🎼🎵🎸😎👍
Super excited about serialization, since I just started a new 28-Day challenge called The Writer's Notebook! (https://valorieclark.substack.com/s/writers-notebook ) It'll be great to make it easy for people to go between challenge days!
Subscribed! I am also running a “challenge” of sorts for Preptober in anticipation of NaNoWriMo that I think you may like! We should connect 🥰
Oooh, that sounds so cool! I just subscribed! I am definitely going to be participating in Preptober and NaNo :)
Excellent! I love connecting with other fiction writers (there aren’t a ton of us on here). Have you signed up yet for NaNo?
I ain't no fiction writer but I like the topics in your newsletter so have just subscribed
Thanks Terry!!
I just subscribed, and to unruly figures. I like the idea of the 28 day challenge.
Thanks! You should join in! It's been fun!
Thank you Katie! It's been fun trying to write every day!
Have just hit the 6 month anniversary of my newsletter Eat This Drink That and am celebrating with a flash sale this weekend. Hoping it will bring in more subscribers - after a really encouraging surge of signups they’ve definitely slowed over the past couple of months but the feedback from those who have signed up has been great. Do spread the word among anyone you think might enjoy getting the sort of hot restaurant, recipe and wine tips you’d share with your friends!
Congratulations on your 6 Month Milestone!
Thanks Diana! 🙏
Thanks, Katie. I'd thought of incorporating it into tomorrow's Friday 5 as I thought more people would open it that way but will think about it! Good idea!
This came in late but I LOVE the new features Substack!
Serialisation is a great addition. Very handy for what I am writing, serialised sci-fi and fantasy with chapters every Tuesday and Thursday. Thanks!
Hope everyone is doing well this Thursday and I wish you all the best in your writing (and reading)!
Fantastic. I’ll be joining you soon on the sci fi serial journey.
Love it. Just subbed.
Hi everyone, I hope you're all doing well. How About This (Canada) and The Metropolitan (UK) did an essay exchange this week where we wrote about the influences of each country on the youth of the other country. Great fun, I think you'll enjoy them:
Canadian influence on British youth (Oh Canada): https://howaboutthis.substack.com/p/the-metropolitan-guest-post-oh-canada
British influence on Canadian youth (The Secret Nine Point Plan to British Unwitting Gen X Canadians): https://www.themetropolitan.uk/p/guest-dykeman
Thanks Bailey!
I like the serialization tool! Note that you can use it even if you are not running a serial of any kind.
If you have a lot of posts on a similar theme, you can set them up so that people can with one click go from one to the next.
I saw this for the first time, I think, on Mr Money Mustache's website, where he had a link called "start here" for new readers. They could then binge-read in some sort of order. I then set up mini-tutorials on my website, like this one - http://www.yudkin.com/ordinary.htm.
Now my mind is churning about how I can implement this idea on my Substack, Introvert Upthink (https://www.introvertupthink.com). The idea is, you create a reader path instead of coaxing them to click around randomly.
I've enabled it in Settings, but how do you actually insert it into a post. ~I can't see a button for that :-(
Yay! You're right!! Thank u
Thanks, Bailey. I did enable it, but it hasn't happened (yet?)
Thanks for that, Marcia! I was wondering what the upside (if any) for those of use who don't write chaptered stories! I especially love your last sentence---something to work on over the weekend!
Yes, "reader path" is the important point. It works best when you have a lot of content.
I seem to be missing out on the whole growth through Substack thing. I'm getting a few new readers but not many. Is this something that mostly benefits big newsletters? Or do I need to be more actively involved with recommendations? Also a question about the app, is an android version coming any time or it will be iphone only?
My newsletter is small and I used to think growth through Substack was only for bigger and/or paid newsletters, but then I got actively involved with recommendations and I've seen quite an uptick. All I needed to do was write a few thoughtful blurbs for the publications I genuinely recommend -- wish I'd done it sooner!
I think it helps to be actively involved. I think most of those that recommend me are those where I've had some interaction with the other writers, through Office Hours, through the Discord Group for substack writers, or shoutouts for their newsletter in my posts etc.
I'm not either - I think it might be because I'm more focused on getting people outside substack because I'm using my newsletter as a way to promote my book. And when I've reached out to do recommendation swaps, almost everyone doesn't get back. I'm not trying to take it personally....(haha...)
I've experienced that too to a certain extent. I just think many people are super busy, nothing personal.
Agree with Melanie. Many of my new subscribers have discovered me during these writer office hours, and I’ve subscribed to other newsletters based on what the writers share here. I have also recommended many newsletters, and written blurbs about why I recommend them, but very few of those writers have recommended mine in return. I wouldn’t want them to feel obligated to just because I recommended theirs, though. I only want recommendations from people who actually read and appreciate what I write!
Well, I just subscribed. Your newsletter looks fascinating!
Have you turned on the recommendations feature? That enables other publications to recommend yours, and that tends to bump up subscribers!
I haven't tried it yet but will get it going - hope to see some movement from it.
I know there’s a separate conversation happening, but would love to hear more about Boost.
Me too! How deep are the discounts? How often do they get sent out? Will we know? I'd hate to offer something like a holiday discount a day after an automated one has gone out.
Thanks Bailey! :)
I'd love to see more details about how it works, what kind of emails it sends, and what tests are being done to ensure it doesn't annoy subscribers and turn them away.
Hey, hope I can help break it down a little more!
A lot of our early Boost features are inspired by Yem's work. An example of this would be emailing your most active free readers and offering them a small discount to encourage them to go paid.
With any Boost feature, and really anything we launch, we test it pretty thoroughly to make sure that it's a net positive. This involves many things, including looking at long-term behavior of people who interact with these surfaces to make sure it's not causing them to stop reading, unsubscribe, or anything else that would indicate that they're unhappy.
Sounds like a smart suite of features!
I get my news about substack from writer office hours. The other thing I like about this session is that I find new writers. For whatever reason the “discover” click never produces writers I enjoy reading, but coming here today I found some pretty interesting (to me) subscribes! Thanks for being here!
Hooray for serialization navigation! I am so excited! I just wonder - will these work if your novel is contained within a section and you publish posts outside of that section, or will it look for the next/previous post in the entire Substack?
Hi Jackie! The previous/next buttons will look for the next post within a section.
Very handy! Thanks for these tips.
Love the nifty new tools and improvements!! Really encourages me to keep writing. Thanks Substack :)
Can someone tell me how to embed the "Buy me a coffee" image in clickable format. its doing my head in!
Yes, I second this question!
You can make a customable button on Buy me a coffee as well but where do you embed the code....
On Ko-fi, they offer a QR code that connects to your account. I just keep that window open, and copy'n'paste it onto the bottom of each of my articles. I hope I understood your dilemma, and my answer helps!
I don't know how to do the image, but I created a custom button with the words "buy me a coffee".
Thanks Melanie
if you have a ko-fi account, you can make a custom button. I do that and put it in the blog roll on the homepage.
Really excited about the serialization aspect! I’m a Substack newbie but have been writing for years. Decided to bring my efforts here and am so delighted by how motivated I am to produce content on a consistent basis. The one thing I’ve never been able to grasp is capturing an audience. As someone who is rather shy about putting my work out there, I am wondering how other writers managed to overcome that (as I’m sure I’m not the only one)
Interacting with other writers here is an excellent start, people here are generally kind and supportive, you can probably get a few kind souls to read your writing and provide feedback.
Interacting with other writers is the best help there is :) Thanks, Mark! Will definitely put my focus on building my community here so that we may all help one another. Great stuff
Hey Karlie, welcome! It's great to have you. We have some posts that have been useful on growing (here's one https://on.substack.com/p/growing-advice-mason-currey). And as Mark noted, hanging out in the office hours is nice as well :)
Here's another great post as well https://on.substack.com/p/grow-4
Thanks for the resources, Seth. Happy to be learning as I go!
I'm wondering: does Boost make sense if your newsletter doesn't have a paid subscription option yet?
Hey Andrew! Currently you can only opt into Substack Boost if you have payments enabled. Hope that helps!
I'll be curious to discover, Andrew! Just 12 hours before this Office Thread, and the "Boost" e-mail hit, I put over a dozen of my archived articles under lock'n'key! I just finished 13 months on 'Stack without really spending much time or effort hustling for subs. I guess it shows, 'cause my number of paid subbies is a literal handful (pause for laughter from the asssembled), but, I've been loathe to have my virtual, if not literal, hand out.
Meanwhile, 'Stackers who have 2 whole months under their belts, I've noticed, and do little more than send out a discussion question or a song to listen to are pulling in hundreds of subs with dozens paid (my total # of subs, 98% free, is 155)! So, assuming I'm doing it right (putting some articles behind a paywall), and my writing approaches anything close to in-depth and/or interesting, I'm hoping I can see a boost from Boost. We'll see....I guess.
As for your question, you might consider doing something similar to what I've done....just a thought. Good luck!
I'm still a very small newsletter. However, I enabled the payment option at the recommendation of a friend of mine. I currently offer all of the same content for free and you only pay if you want to support me. I already have a few paid subscribers in the first couple of weeks. I have found that if people believe in you and your content, they will support you monetarily. I hope this helps and that you continue to grow. I just subscribed to your content! Keep it up.
I am going to test out a long form post this next issue on overcoming hardship and failure and promote the hell out of it, will share results as opposed to shorter and more direct posts. I am interested in seeing the results.
Hi everyone. I know this has been said before, but I can't stress enough about how it would be helpful to support markdown. Many of us write outside the app in dedicated tools that use markdown (Ulysses, iA Writer, Mars Edit, ...). Copy and paste in rich text is just not good enough (footnotes and links get mangled).
Additionally, it would be great to have multi-user support in the editor once an article is uploaded, so two or more editors can work simultaneously - back and forth editing is so 90s ;)
Lastly, an easy-to-implement API to allow those apps to directly post to Substack. They already do this for the likes of WordPress.
I use Paper and Obsidian.
Integration with Obsidian will be just amazing.
I am planning to use Obsidian Publish at some point of time to create a garden of all my ramblings.
I use the English language
A pox on the avalanche of new and superfluous tools which complicate our lives and discombobulate our psyches.
Hi! Fairly new Substack writer here. I'm interested to know where people are doing their networking/advertising to find more people who would be interested in their work.
Would it be more valuable to use my time to post more (currently I post about once a week), or to build a presence outside of substack to build an audience?
It's definitely worth spending the time connecting with other writers who are doing similar content/ topics to you. This doesn't have to take long, but it's been worthwhile to me in terms of growth but also inspiring.
Check below for a wonderful tool created by Matthew Krager.
I use it.
I wish we had a feature that would allow us to share directly to an Instagram story. Is that even possible?
Speaking of new features, I have some requests. Although I know they are more advanced types of requests.
1) The ability to send out at least two different headline and header images of a newsletter, so I can do A/B testing. I have been consciously playing around with this stuff and it is helping engagement. But being able to do A/B testing would be ideal.
2) The ability to create a link that would allow me to make subscriber-only content available to anyone. But just for that story. Ideally, a feature similar to the one the Washington Post has, which allows paid subscribers to "gift" a linked story to someone.
3) I now have two different newsletters going out each day under the same account. And it's a bit confusing, because unless I am missing something, there isn't a way for me to tell how many people are subscribed to each newsletter.
Thanks. I know the A/B testing would be both complicated to code and of limited use to any but the biggest accounts. One reason it's been on my mind is that I have seen differences in open rates depending on the image. My headline is always pretty much the same. For instance, my morning newsletter is brand new and doesn't have a lot of subscribers. So it's easier for me to test things. I've realized that having a photo that focuses on the outside-the-United States TV market increases the open rate about 10%. (although even on a bad day it's averaging a pretty crazy 70+%).
It's harder to tell with my afternoon newsletter, because the sub number is larger and the photo tends to reflect the biggest story I'm highlighting. So it's more difficult to spot trends. The open rate on that one is also lower on average (right around 50%).
Also, one other problem I can't figure out. I have some people telling me they randomly don't receive their newsletter. It seems to somehow be connected to a problem I've noticed with Gmail. I have a Gmail account that is linked to a domain. And some days, I just don't receive a newsletter. It's not in the spam folder, I've eliminated all of sub-tabs Gmail wants me to use (like the promotions tab). It's not sitting in my default domain email folder for some reason. I'm perplexed.
I noticed that Substack recently purchased Yem—is Yem the power behind Boost? Or is this a separate initiative/service?
I just read about this, the answer is yes.
This is from their release:
"We acquired Yem, a startup that helped newsletter writers grow their mailing lists and paid subscriber bases through smart email marketing. We’re building the magic of Yem into Substack. "
Just wanted to stop by and thank the team at Substack for doing so much to make marketing our newsletters less time consuming. I remember suggesting as much earlier this year, and I'm thrilled to see you taking the feedback to heart—not that I'm surprised, however. You've always been awesome like that!
I'm loving doing guest posts and making new fans/subs in countries I'd never reached before! Before, What's Curation? (my newsletter) was drawing in readers from the US, Canada, and India. But now, I'm seeing readers from Europe as well! Also, almost at 200 subs. I'm not a huge "ME ME ME" guy, but it'll help if you can spread the word or come check me out and subscribe only if you think it's a fit for you. I have a great About page ;-)
Now if y'all excuse me, I'll be helping out in the comments below.
Hi all - does anyone know if we can add subscribers to just one section of our newsletter? Or do they have to (or do I have to) have them added to all at once? and then they unclick? I'm getting sign ups for my book and would like to have people added to just my book section and homepage section. Any suggestions? Alternatively, if I add someone or someone subscribes, can I then go in and manually unclick the sections they might not want? Thanks.
I know it can be done when you create a new section, and I think it's possible unsubscribe from certain sections on each individual subscriber dashboard. Are you trying to add people manually only to certain sections?
I have a separate mailing list for my book on flodesk because there are so many screens that pop up in substack that I know it annoys some people, and I don't want to lose subscribers. They want info about my book, and I want to send them my monthly 'zine (which is the homepage section). So I now import them in manually but they're signed up for everything. I'd like to be able to import them in to just those 2 sections.
OR, better yet, I would like people to be able to sign up and choose which section they want. Have a sign up with the homepage and book sections already checked. The subscriber can then add other sections if they wish. Then I could get rid of any outside mailing list company. I'm not trying to be rude because I love other substacks, but I want that way more that promoting other substacks or recommendations because that confuses people. And I need to focus on growing my substack and earning some type of income.
Ooh I see what you're saying. Yeah, it would be nice for people to pick and choose which sections they want to subscribe to when they subscribe.
I keep meaning to writing substack about this - wish we could tag katie. @katie - do you see these??? see above!
Yeah Chris!!! Thanks so much for looking into. It’s my only challenge w substack but it’s a big one when yr trying to grow yr list with non-substack folks. Thanks again!!
Ooh, love both these new features!
I would love the ability for the serialization tool to work within sub-newsletters, as I separate my ongoing serialized books into different sub-newsletters but don't necessarily publish those chapters consecutively, as I have other posts/articles in between.
It does!!! Previous and next buttons go to previous and next posts in a section (not in your whole newsletter!)
Oh amazing! Thank you Elle!
Agreed! I'm starting a serial before the year's over and would love to keep the navigation of those chapters separate from my other work. But this is a really great start and a nice surprise!
Edit: I'm seeing in other responses that it works on a per section basis. Super exciting!
Love these new features, particularly excited about the ability to add a custom header to the home page!
No pertinent questions. Just wanted to leave a comment as a new writer hoping to gain some traction on my publications. Looking forward to growing with the Substack community.
Love all of what’s happening with Substack. It’s like a sonic boom of possibilities.
In the spirit of sharing, I wanted to recommend a book to our community here of Substackers. It’s called “Fascination” by Sally Hogsheads. A MUST READ for navigating todays world where (in the case of Substack) we are vying for the attention of readers among an infinity of other media outlets (including other Substackers) 😳
Thanks ... I'm off to check it out. Actual title: How the World Sees You: Discover Your Highest Value Through the Science of Fascination
The serial buttons are just in time for a serial I’m publishing next month. I’m excited for all the new changes and must say this is an inspiring and dynamic community.
I also love that more customization is coming. We can really make a page ours and each Substack becomes a new experience. Will we be able to have music play when users visit?? Some platforms had that back in the day.
You don't see music playing upon getting to a website much any more because it was learned that it really, really, really annoyed a majority of users!
Especially if you didn’t have headphones in. 🫣
I dropdown New First :)
That is where all the action is, the fringe of Substack City 😅
What about you?
Yes, I always choose new first, both on my home page and in this chat.
Thats the way to be :) I am seeing lives changing :)
Basic question: how do you add subscriber quotes to the bottom of my welcome page? I am starting to see this on more stacks and love what it adds!
Search for "Manage blurbs displayed on your welcome page" on your settings page and you should see the option :)
I have a writing process question and I'm curious to hear what others' experiences are.
When I started my Substack, it was a personal project in which I wrote and posted a short essay every Saturday. I ONLY worked on the essays on Saturdays, and posted them the same day, which both prevented me from spinning my wheels revising them all week and created some great deadline pressure to finish the piece to the best of my ability and just put it up. I actually think this is a great way to get started!
But I'm now really looking for more growth, and I'm thinking it might be better to write my essay in advance so that I can do things like choose pull quotes, create images for social media, and add images to the posts (which I hadn't been doing before.) But without the hard post deadline (my readers do expect and look forward to Saturday posts), I do spin my wheels and end up working on the piece until Saturday anyway.
For those who write posts in advance, do you have strategies you use to make sure you finalize them and don't keep fiddling with them until post time?
I like to say my work is “fresh baked”, meaning there is not much lead time between completion and publishing. While I have put good work out that way, it can sometimes be very stressful.
What I started doing was scheduling the release and then finishing by the due date, kind of like a stopwatch. It was helpful. I think I want to move toward more backlog of writing to take the pressure off and schedule much more in advance. It involves trust in yourself but also accountability for completion. There are balancing acts that sometimes have to change. To each work there is a season.
"To each work there is a season" -- I like that! It's helpful to think that it's just about finding the right balance of what works for right now. Thank you.
The only time I write posts in advance is when I know I won’t be able to do it on Friday, my publishing day, and therefore have to write one earlier and schedule it to publish on Friday. When I do that, I don’t go back and edit it at all; I treat it as if I had written it and immediately sent it out on Friday as usual.
Ah, this feels relatable for me! If I know I don't have time on my publishing day, then I've been able to write it sooner and schedule it, but as long as I know I do have time on that day, the post never seems to feel finished enough to schedule because I secretly know I have more time to work on it. Glad to meet someone else who doesn't usually write in advance!
I have a set time I post but I don't actually sit there and press the button at that time, I schedule the post in advance and once it's scheduled I find I can leave it alone. Would that help you?
Thanks, I want to move toward doing this! I often set out to do this but then feel like it's not good enough and I should come back to it later. Maybe over time I can get better at deciding it's done and scheduling it without the hard deadline looming.
I think it's alright if you continue to fiddle with the post. You can still get these pull quotes and graphics ready while you fiddle.
In terms of self-imposing deadlines, I like to plan a fun reward for myself for finishing a post (watch a movie, do some baking). Especially if it's something done with a close friend/my boyfriend who can hold me accountable for having actually done the work.
Thanks for this, it's making me reflect that I had a nice writing routine for Saturdays (it often involved eating pancakes first!) and although I block out time earlier in the week now, I don't have an appealing routine or rewards system that really would support me or keep me accountable to finish earlier. I'll think a little more about this.
Also, I think these "Office Hours" would be more useful if you hosted a stream and answered questions from the chat.
This seems more like a product announcement with a comments thread than any sort of Q&A resource for Substack writers. I don't see much 'A' happening.
I find the comments interaction very useful and it allows people to participate asynchronously.
The A's are often delayed, and sometimes they come from other Substack writers.
Hi Substack team! I love these new tools and features! Thank you for working so hard to help us share our work with readers.
I have a feature request. I'm wondering if it's possible to make the buttons dynamic? Right now, when I put up a subscribe button all of my readers see the same thing. That's great for new people, but kind of a waste for subscribers. I think the button they see actually says something like "manage subscription." But I'm wondering if it's possible for subscribers to see a different CTA in the same button. So for example, if you're a subscriber and logged in, you'd see a "share" button instead of a subscribe button. I think something like that would really help growth.
Thanks! That would be great!
Fun to see every week something new. Will have to get cracking on that new header.
My question now that I was looking at settings: What is this one? "Enable colored links
Toggle between colored or black/underlined links"
It's probably obvious, but not to this luddite.
Thanks!
Neal
If you turn it on, it will make your links match your publication colors instead of being black and underlined. It is a design feature and doesn’t change how they work, just how they look.
You can make it so any hyperlinked text is a different color instead of underlined. In my case, any hyperlinked next is now blue, helping it stand out against a dark background.
Thanks Kevin. I'm assuming you can adjust that hyperlink color. Been meaning to subscribe to On Repeat (always need new music)...now I have another reason. Going there next!
Right on & thank you!!
I love using colored links! I link a lot to wikipedia (and other sites) and it really helps to have the links in red, e.g.:
https://moviewise.substack.com/p/kiss-for-health-wealth-and-happiness
A guess, 'cause I think I've seen it before, and maybe used it.....when you highlight something in your post, and then link another article, what color can you make the highlighted item?
Substack,
Please provide more detailed information about how stats are triggered.
Specifically, how an "open" is triggered?
Considering this is the metric you present to all writers, my investigation into it suggests it is the most misleading and inaccurate metric of all of the metrics relating to subscriber behaviour.
In no way does "open" relate to "read", when you talk to subscribers about what they actually do.
Looks to me like you're presenting a metric that can be machine triggered and/or has little meaning.
Hey Ignasz -- We do our best to exclude likely-machine-triggered events from open tracking, but 'opens' remain a bit noisy: We will count someone clicking on an email as an 'open' even if they do not read the email in its entirety. And a single subscriber might trigger multiple 'opens' by using multiple devices or forwarding emails to their friends.
If you are seeing stats problems with a particular post please let me know and I'd be happy to investigate further.
So why is "opens" a meaningful metric?
It can be triggered by someone just rolling over their emails or using a rule/filter to mark them as read e.g. "move to substack folder and mark as read"
Yet substack doesn't explain how weak the opens metric is and presents it as the primary metric to writers.
I was wondering about this, because one of my friends "opens" my emails, like, 50 times and I'm flattered but also kinda want her to chill. haha Maybe she's forwarding it?